"To get used to life without Hardik Pandya" - Aakash Chopra on the challenges before Team India in the ODI series vs South Africa
Aakash Chopra has highlighted that the absence of Hardik Pandya will be one of the challenges Team India will have to overcome during the ODI series against South Africa.
Pandya has been an integral member of the Indian limited-overs side over the last few years. However, he has been laid low due to persistent back issues and is not part of the Indian squad for the three ODIs against the Proteas.
Aakash Chopra reflected on the challenges before Team India in a video shared on his YouTube channel. He said the following about Pandya being missing in action:
"The first thing is to get the right balance. They need to get used to life without Hardik Pandya if he is not there. For that, they need to give a chance to Venkatesh Iyer."
The former India opener also wants Team India to be more penetrative with the new ball. Aakash Chopra elaborated:
"The second point, they need to pick up wickets with the new ball, which is something we generally don't do both in T20Is and ODIs. That's what the Indian team has to do one hundred percent because if you don't do that, you will be stuck."
India's bowling powerplay woes🚨 India's bowling powerplay woes
Since the end of the 2019 ODI World Cup, India have taken just 8 wickets in the first 10 overs in 19 ODIs.
It's the second worst in the world after Zimbabwe, who have played only seven ODIs.
#SLvIND
Failure to pick up wickets in the first 10 overs has been Team India's Achilles heel of late. They will hope Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvnehswar Kumar, who are likely to share the new ball, deliver the goods in the three-match series against the Proteas.
"Rishabh Pant will have to grow his stature" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra added that finishing the innings has been another of the Indian team's stumbling blocks. He explained:
"The third is to finish strongly. Our top three do well, whether Rohit and Virat are there or not there, but after that, we don't finish strongly enough. So Rishabh Pant will have to grow his stature slightly and Venkatesh Iyer will have to join him."
The renowned commentator wants the likes of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to bat deep into the innings to resolve the issue. Aakash Chopra said:
"I feel one of the top four will have to play till the 45th over, it could be Virat or Shreyas - I don't know, someone will have to play till beyond the 40th over or so because I see a little less depth in the batting."
Aakash Chopra concluded by saying that he wants to see Rahul Dravid's coaching imprint during the series. He pointed out that the Indian team will have to overcome recent turbulent times, including the captaincy saga that has grabbed the headlines.