"No one is talking about this" - Aakash Chopra on Hardik Pandya's underwhelming all-round performances heading into World Cup 2023

Aakash Chopra feels Hardik Pandya needs to do a lot better than his recent performances with both bat and ball for India to have a successful campaign in World Cup 2023.

The 50-over World Cup will be played in India from October 5 to November 19 later this year. Hardik will likely be the only batting all-rounder in India's squad for the global event.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Hardik's form should be a focus of discussion heading into the World Cup. He stated:

"Bowling and batting, that package, I think you want Hardik to do a lot better. Honestly, no one is talking about this until now. When we lost an ODI as well, the talk was about the youngsters not doing well but the focus should be on Hardik Pandya because he is an extremely important player."

The former Indian opener pointed out that the Baroda all-rounder hasn't been at his destructive best with the bat lately. He explained:

"If we talk about his batting performances in the last 10 ODIs, he scored an unbeaten 70 off 52 recently in the West Indies, where the start was extremely slow, but he accelerated towards the end. If we leave aside a 12-ball 14 as it was a very small knock, there are only two innings where he has scored more runs than the balls he has faced."

Chopra added that Hardik needs to have a better strike rate, considering the role he is likely to play. He elaborated:

"It doesn't speak highly of him finishing the game extremely fast. We have to keep the strike rate in mind because his primary role is as a finisher. He is not going to play at No. 4. There you need a strike rate close to 150 and we are talking of it being less than 100. So it's not actually matching."

Hardik has aggregated 280 runs at an average of 31.11 and a strike rate of 97.22 in the 10 ODI innings he has played this year. He had a strike rate of over 100 in each of the previous four years, with 133.70 in 2021 being his best.

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"I am not a huge fan" - Aakash Chopra doesn't want Hardik Pandya to bowl with the new ball

Hardik Pandya used the new ball in all three ODIs against the West Indies.

Aakash Chopra doesn't want Hardik Pandya to operate with the new ball in the upcoming World Cup. He reasoned:

"If we talk about bowling, I am very curious to see what India do when the World Cup comes, when Bumrah gets fit, and Shami and Siraj are available. You have seen Hardik Pandya bowling with the new ball recently. I am not a huge fan that you get Hardik to bowl with the new ball in ODI cricket because new ball means picking up wickets."

The cricketer-turned-commentator believes Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj are better wicket-taking options with the new ball. He said:

"Aren't Bumrah, Shami and Siraj better options with the new ball? He has gone wicketless in five of the last 10 matches he has bowled and has picked up two or more wickets only twice. It just tells you that he is not really a wicket-taker."

Chopra concluded by observing that Hardik's form with both bat and ball in the last 10 ODIs is a concern. He added that the all-rounder needs to regain his form as he has a much bigger role to play from the Asia Cup onwards.