IPL 2021: "SRH's glaring weakness is the lack of experience in the Indian batting" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra has picked the relative inexperience of the Indian batting contingent in the SRH (Sunrisers Hyderabad) lineup as the franchise's most apparent weakness.
The David Warner-led side have a host of youngsters in the form of Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad and Virat Singh as middle-order batsmen. While they are supremely talented, they are yet to establish themselves as match-winners on the big stage.
While doing a SWOT analysis of SRH in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra picked this aspect as a weakness for the franchise, despite the acquisition of the experienced Kedar Jadhav at the IPL 2021 auction.
"Sunrisers Hyderabad's glaring weakness is the lack of experience in the Indian batting although they have picked Kedar Jadhav, which I feel is a fantastic buy," said Chopra.
The reputed commentator pointed out that relatively experienced players like Vijay Shankar and Manish Pandey have also not set the stage on fire for SRH in the IPL.
"Vijay Shankar hasn't really risen to the occasion or lived up to his reputation yet. Manish Pandey has been underwhelming if you see based on his capabilities," added Chopra.
While Shankar was injured after the initial few matches of IPL 2020, Pandey lacked the required consistency, although he was the second-highest run-getter for the franchise last season.
Aakash Chopra feels the SRH youngsters need to be more consistent
![Priyam Garg averaged just 14.77 for SRH in IPL 2020 [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/04/f631b-16178604969763-800.jpg)
While acknowledging SRH has exceptional young talents, and experience in the form of Wriddhiman Saha, Aakash Chopra highlighted none of them have sealed a spot with their consistent performances.
"Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Wriddhiman Saha are all good names but none of them is one you can say is their consistent player," said Chopra.
The former KKR player concluded by stating that he would much rather choose an uncapped Indian player like Nitish Rana than the ones in the SRH lineup.
"For example, if you have to choose between one of them and Nitish Rana, an Indian uncapped player, you will still pick Nitish Rana because he remains more consistent. So their Indian batting contingent is slightly weak," signed off Chopra.
The SRH team management is known to extract the best from their youngsters and get them to punch above their weight. They will hope last year's IPL experience will hold them in good stead and deliver some impactful performances.