Hardik Pandya can give you five to six overs and not consistently ten in World Cup: Aakash Chopra

After comfortably wrapping up the Test series 1-0, Team India under Rohit Sharma will look to put up another dominant show as they face Shai Hope-led West Indies in a three-match ODI series, starting today. This series marks the start of India's preparation for the World Cup 2023 and Team India will look to get its combination right ahead of the marquee event. Ahead of the first ODI at Kensington Oval, Barbados, JioCinema experts Abhinav Mukund, Aakash Chopra, and Saba Karim analyzed Hardik Pandya’s role in the Team India setup.

Abhinav Mukund believes that Pandya should not be relied upon to bowl his full quota of ten overs, “If you get even five or six overs from him then you are getting the job done out of him. We have got five bowlers already in contention. If Jadeja is playing and Hardik Pandya is playing, there are two genuine all-rounders. We shouldn’t think as Hardik Pandya being a front line ten over bowling option.”

Aakash Chopra agreed with Mukund and said, “I am viewing him as someone who can give you five to six overs and not consistently giving you ten overs. Well, we will also find out in the three ODIs whether he is actually bowling and if he is bowling, how many overs Rohit Sharma is giving him the responsibility to bowl.”

Another expert Saba Karim added, “If even he can bowl five to six overs that will be very handy for the Indian side because Hardik in the playing eleven brings the right kind of balance. He is a terrific performer with the willow, coming in at number five- six. He can also bat as a floater plus if he can chip in with those 4-5 overs of incisive pace bowling, that will be very important for India’s success.”