"Everyone gets to bat and it is not that we are scoring 200" - Aakash Chopra on India's concerns ahead of 2nd T20I vs Sri Lanka

Aakash Chopra believes India's batters not making their starts count is their biggest concern heading into the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pune on Thursday, January 5.

None of the top five Indian batters crossed the 40-run mark in the first T20I between the two sides in Mumbai on Tuesday, January 3. The Men in Blue were in a spot of bother at 94/5 after 14.1 overs before Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel's unbroken 68-run partnership took them to a fighting score.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that India's lower-order players are getting to bat frequently, elaborating:

"My concerns are simple - if we see the Indian team's batting for the last eight months in T20Is, whichever batter is there at No. 8 or No. 9 gets to bat. It happened in the World Cup and here as well, and earlier in the Asia Cup also. Everyone gets to bat and it is not that we are scoring 200."

Chopra feels India have not yet formulated a proper T20I batting approach, explaining:

"We score 150-160 also and still everyone gets to bat. It means we are figuring out slightly what's the right way of going about it. You try to be aggressive but it doesn't mean you will throw away your wicket once you get a start."

Ishan Kishan gave India a blazing start in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. However, a flurry of wickets thereafter put Hardik Pandya and Co. behind the eight ball before they staged a recovery to post a decent total.

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"You need a little more responsibility" - Aakash Chopra

Some of the Indian batters threw away their wickets by playing ungainly shots. [P/C: BCCI]

Chopra added that India's batters could learn from the likes of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales on how to play substantial knocks despite batting aggressively, stating:

"You need a little more responsibility, which you see in Jos Buttler and saw in Alex Hales against India. You want to maximize, of course you don't want to slow down or play selfishly, but if you have gotten a start, if you have reached 30-40, then make it count."

The reputed commentator concluded by saying that it is a concern as India's batting is floundering repeatedly, observing:

"Every player doesn't score runs on one day, that is why a team plays five to seven batters. So it is happening repeatedly, which means there is a slight problem."

India will be without Sanju Samson for the last two T20Is against Sri Lanka. It will be interesting to see if they make either Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad bat in the middle order or give Rahul Tripathi a debut.