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Aakash Chopra reckons Hardik Pandya is not in his element with the ball in the ongoing limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. Chopra, however, added that it is tough to judge whether Pandya's lack of form is because of injury issues or lack of game time.
Ever since his back surgery in 2019, Hardik Pandya has bowled sporadically. The all-rounder bowled a few overs against England earlier this year in the limited-overs series but didn't bowl a single over for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the first phase of IPL 2021.
In an interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Chopra highlighted how Hardik Pandya is looking out of rhythm as he is even bowling no-balls. The former Indian batsman said:
"It doesn't seem like (Whether Hardik Pandya is bowling fit.). Is it the form or fitness its tough to say for us from here. He hasn't bowled for a long time. He bowled 2-4 overs against England (earlier in the year). He hasn't bowled since, then. Didn't bowl in the IPL either. He has almost made himself unavailable from Test cricket."
The 43-year-old elaborated further:
"It's tough to judge him like this but he doesn't look in form that's for sure. He is not in rhythm, he's bowling no-balls and it happens when you don't have that bowling -related game time. Whether he is fit or not, only he can answer on how his body is responding. As a bowler, Hardik Pandya is not in form."
Hardik Pandya has bowled nine overs across two ODIs against Sri Lanka, conceding 54 runs and picking up one wicket.
"Why will you want to tinker with the setup?" - Aakash Chopra on Team India making possible changes for the 3rd ODI
Despite India securing a series victory in the ODIs by taking an unasailable 2-0 lead, Aakash Chopra believes the team management shouldn't make changes for the final ODI unless there are injury concerns.
Chopra argued that giving uncapped players a chance in the final game wouldn't do them justice as they would once again be dropped when the T20I series begins. He added:
"Kuldeep, Chahal, Bhuvneshwar, Deepak all have done well. Why will you want to tinker with the setup? I understand people might want to see Chetan Sakariya, Navdeep Saini, Nitish Rana. We have 6 uncapped players. I think it won't be fair to them as well. As soon as we play them in the final game (of the ODI series) . Then again they will not get their chances as the T20 series will begin. It's better to carry on with the continuity which the Indian team has unless their is an injury concern."
The third and final ODI will be played tomorrow in Colombo. Following that, the three-match T20I series begins on July 25.
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