'Come out all guns blazing this time' - Aakash Chopra's advice to England for clash versus Sri Lanka

It has been a tough journey in the ODI World Cup 2023 thus far for both England and Sri Lanka. The 'Lankan Lions' have a fairly inexperienced side with veterans like Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, and Dasun Shanaka not being in the mix. The pressure of expectations on Sri Lanka isn't too much. However, the same can't be said for the defending champions - England.

Jos Buttler's men came into the tournament as one of the frontrunners to go the distance. However, they haven't been able to hit the ground running, and like Sri Lanka, have only one win in four games. The two sides collide on Thursday, October 26 in Bengaluru in what is a very important game in the tournament. It will be very difficult to qualify for the semi-finals for the team that loses this clash.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra opined that England should have a long batting lineup if they want to play 'Bazball' cricket. He also noted that Sri Lanka are not the best bowling side in the 10-team competition and suggested that England should come out with an attacking mindset.

“The Bazball system could have only been enabled by playing a long batting lineup. When you decide that you don't need that much batting, that you will go with proper bowlers and batters, you are unable to play with that much freedom. So I am very curious to watch what England will do,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“South Africa hit you a lot and you couldn't chase against Afghanistan as well. So don't chase, bat first. You can score 350 runs because Sri Lanka didn't have Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga, and, now, they don't have Matheesha Pathirana as well. The team is looking slightly weak. Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, and Maheesh Theekshana are there, but it's not the same kind of attack that will trouble you a lot. So come out all guns blazing this time,” the 46-year-old added.

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