"We don't know how Shreyas Iyer will play" - Aakash Chopra on India's weaknesses heading into Asia Cup 2023
Aakash Chopra feels undercooked players like Shreyas Iyer could prove to be India's stumbling block in Asia Cup 2023.
The continental showpiece event will be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from Wednesday, August 30. Shreyas, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, who are part of the Men in Blue's 17-member squad, are returning to ODI cricket after prolonged injury layoffs.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked India's middle-order concerns and Jasprit Bumrah's limited recent match experience as two of their weaknesses heading into the Asia Cup. He stated:
"There are slight concerns in your batting at No. 4 and No. 5 because they have not played much cricket. It is not only No. 4 and No. 5, if you see Jasprit Bumrah, you will say that he too hasn't played much cricket."
The former Indian opener added:
"As things stand now, we don't know how Shreyas Iyer will play, it seems KL Rahul might not be available for the first match, Tilak Varma has never played ODI cricket to date, Suryakumar Yadav has played but hasn't been able to understand ODI cricket properly thus far, and Jasprit Bumrah has played just two T20Is since he came back from injury."
Chopra acknowledged that all Indian players might be ready by the time the World Cup starts. However, he sees a lack of game time as a definite potential weakness for the Asia Cup.
"There is no off-spinner" - Aakash Chopra on India's other weakness
Aakash Chopra reckons the absence of a frontline off-spinner could prove to India's Achilles heel as well. He reasoned:
"The second point is that there is no off-spinner. It will be a point of discussion because as soon as you see two or three left-handers in the opposition team, you will feel that you cannot play Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja together."
The cricketer-turned-commentator feels the inclusion of Shardul Thakur will not give India an ideal bowling attack. He said:
"So they will look to play Shardul Thakur at No. 8, Kuldeep Yadav at No. 9, and then the two fast bowlers. Ideally you should be able to play all three fast bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami - but there is an obsession for a batter at No. 8."
Chopra added that India might want to play three spinners if the Kandy pitch is spin-friendly but would have to go with two left-arm spinners in such a scenario. He concluded by observing that it is another potential weakness that could throw them off suddenly.