We are just a few days away from the start of the 16th edition of the Asia Cup. This coming tournament will take place in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, starting on August 30. Six teams will take part, divided into two groups of three each.
India, Pakistan and Nepal are in Group A, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B. Team India will play their first game against Pakistan on September 2 in Pallekele. The Indian team will have a number of areas to address as the tournament progresses.
Though the Indian squad saw the return of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in the middle order, they are coming off long injuries. Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra highlighted a flaw in the Indian team that is related to Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder will assist Rohit Sharma as vice captain of the team.
In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Aakash highlighted that Hardik has bowled 44 overs in eight matches this year, which is around 5.5 overs per match, which is not a great sign for India going forward. He added that Hardik gives great balance to the team and is an important player, but he needs to bowl more overs.
Aakash said, “Hardik hasn’t bowled six overs per match, which is not a great sign. Team wants him to bowl more, which is why he is given the new ball at times. If you see it from India’s point of view, you expect him to bowl more.”
So far, the all-rounder has played 77 ODIs and scored 1666 runs at a batting average of 33.32 and a strike rate of 112.03. With the ball, he has taken 73 wickets at an economy rate of 5.59 and an average of 38.06. Hardik’s all-round ability will be very important for India in Asia Cup and ODI World Cup because he is currently among the top white-ball all-rounders in the world.
