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'Could've Thought Of Axar, Chahar, Or...': Aakash Chopra On Hardik Pandya's Replacement 

image-lol2h73aHardik Pandya hurt his ankle against Bangladesh (Twitter)

Aakash Chopra focused on India's move to replace premier allrounder Hardik Pandya with backup seamer Prasidh Krishna for the remainder of the ICC World Cup 2023 and said the team management and selectors have made a tactically curious decision at the marquee tournament. 

Pandya, who missed India's league stage encounters against New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka with an untimely ankle injury that occurred during an earlier fixture versus Bangladesh in Pune, was officially ruled out of the competition with his recovery taking extra time.

Given the allround cricketer's unmatched importance to the set-up, the NCA physios and BCCI medical staff have decided not to take any risks with his ankle even with the World Cup context in mind. Chopra, however, chose to pinpoint India's decision to replace Pandya with a specialist pacer in Prasidh, who has featured in 17 ODIs and 2 T20Is for the country. 

Chopra On Prasidh Krishna Replacing Hardik Pandya 

The former Test opener turned popular commentator raised curiosity over Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel's decision to bring in the frontline Karnataka right-arm pacer for India's designated fast-bowling allrounder, when there was a choice to spread the net wider and potentially rope in Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar and Shivam Dube in a similar role. 

Chopra felt it was a clear sign that coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma are now tilting towards a five-pronged attack with a specialist batter in Suryakumar Yadav taking the Pandya slot at No.6.

"Hardik Pandya is not there and Prasidh Krishna has come as his replacement. The question is Prasidh Krishna is a fast bowler and Hardik Pandya is an all-rounder. So India have decided that their three fast bowlers are doing well and they don't want to go away from that philosophy, so they need a backup there," Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 

"They could have probably thought about an all-rounder. They could have thought about Axar Patel, Shivam Dube or Deepak Chahar, but they didn't think anything like that. They said they need a proper fast bowler as they have decided to go with three fast bowlers," he added. 

Pandya's sad absence from the side proved to be a blessing for experienced speedster Mohammad Shami, who had missed the earlier games due to the playing combination but has since emerged as a devastating force for opposition batters. Shami has prized 14 scalps in his last three innings of the World Cup, including two astonishing five-wicket hauls.