Aakash Chopra said that there is "a slight problem" in Team India’s batting, as he suggested the batters need to take a little more responsibility to help the side post big totals on the board in T20Is.
Indian batters struggled to get going in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, but Akshar Patel and Deepak Hooda’s quickfire cameos helped them post over 160 runs on the board at the Wankhede Stadium.
Ahead of the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pune on Thursday (January 5), a former Indian cricketer said that the Indian batters must play well and take their innings deep if they get a good start.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel: “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.”
He further added, “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.”
Meanwhile, Chopra raised concerns over India’s long-standing problem that they couldn’t score 200 runs despite their numbers 8 and 9 players also batting in the majority of the T20I matches.
He noted, “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 also stressed that Indian batters can’t just throw away their wickets just because they want to be aggressive.
He signed off by saying, “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.”
The second T20I between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Pune on January 5.
