"New Zealand has been our Achilles heel" - Aakash Chopra on India's potential World Cup clash vs Kiwis in Dharamsala
Aakash Chopra feels India need to be wary of New Zealand in their potential World Cup 2023 clash in Dharamsala.
The draft schedule for the 10-nation quadrennial event was released recently. India are scheduled to begin their campaign against Australia in Chennai, with a potential clash against the Kiwis in their fifth game in Dharamsala.
While previewing India's schedule in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted that the Dharamsala ground might suit New Zealand, who have proved to be India's stumbling block lately:
"Clash against New Zealand in Dharamsala on October 22. The weather would have started becoming slightly cold but not fully. Bounce and pace on the pitch, New Zealand has been our Achilles heel, so this can be a slight problem. We have to be always wary of New Zealand and the Dharamsala ground might suit them."
The former Indian opener pointed out that the home team cannot take Bangladesh lightly either:
"India will face Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune. Bangladesh are not pushovers. They are a decent team and I feel they will do okay in 50-over cricket. This is a team that can actually trouble you a little bit."
Chopra reckons India should be more scared of Bangladesh than Afghanistan in the 50-over format. He added that Rohit Sharma and Co. need to be a little cautious to avoid an upset.
"There couldn't have been a better venue than this" - Aakash Chopra on India's potential World Cup clash vs England in Lucknow
Aakash Chopra believes the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow is the best venue to host England:
"We will be in front of England in Lucknow on October 29. There couldn't have been a better venue than this to play England. Here you can play all spinners you would have selected, bowl a lot of spin and trap the opposing team. If you want to stop England's batting might, there is no better ground than Ekana."
However, the reputed commentator was unsure how the relaid Ekana will behave:
"However, there is a slight caveat here, they have already relaid the Ekana pitch. When it is a relaid pitch and there is three-four months' time, how good it will be, it might still not be that good and become a turning pitch. This could actually be in India's favor."
With India facing the qualifiers in two of their final three league games, Chopra believes it would allow them to manage their net run rate. However, he added that the hosts could get stuck if they have to defend a target in potentially dewy conditions in Kolkata in their penultimate league game against South Africa.