'How's 8 T20Is in two months too much?' - Aakash Chopra’s indirect jibe at Sanjay Manjrekar over comment on Bhuvneshwar Kumar

India will ramp up their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia with a three-match T20I series against South Africa, commencing on the 28th of September. While Sanjay Manjrekar acknowledged the decision of resting the much-maligned Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra questioned the decision. Chopra took a sly dig at Manjrekar's comments via a social media post.

The Indian team will be without the services of Mohammed Shami and Deepak Hooda for the South Africa series due to fitness concerns, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya have been rested for the series to prevent any injury heading into the T20 World Cup. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believed the former was due a rest and suffered a dip in form due to playing 'too much cricket'.

“With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, it’s never a very simple answer but you’ve got to give one of the simple answers, and one of the main reasons why Bhuvi seems to be off the boil - is playing too much cricket. Manjrekar said on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP’.

But Aakash Chopra does not see eye to eye with his senior pro and questions the need for rest, aiming an indirect dig at Manjrekar's comments. He enquired about the decision via a post from his Twitter handle, which read, "How is playing 8 International (only T20) games in two months ‘too much cricket’?"

'Without Hardik Pandya, India looks like a slightly weaker team' Aakash Chopra

Meanwhile, the former Indian opener also feels that the visiting Proteas team is much stronger than the one that visited post the conclusion of IPL 2022 earlier this year. Chopra believes that the South African side poses a threat in this format of the game and will be one to watch out for in the ICC event in Australia. He also lamented the absence of Hardik Pandya, who provides more stability to the team with his all-around abilities.

"Last time around Markram was not there, de Kock played only one match, so the team looked a little weak and in search of balance. But, nothing like that will happen this time. I personally fear this team, this team has the potential to go very far in the World Cup as well. Without Hardik Pandya, India looks like a slightly weaker team," Chopra said on his YouTube channel