Hardik has been laid low by persistent back issues and has not been picked in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. Venkatesh, who is being groomed to play the batting all-rounder’s role at No. 6, gave a decent account of himself against the West Indies and will hope to continue in the same vein against the Lankans.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked if Venkatesh Iyer doing a brilliant job as a finisher and all-rounder is creating a threat to Hardik Pandya’s spot in the Indian team. He responded:
The cricketer-turned-commentator believes both Hardik and Venkatesh can feature in the playing XI. Chopra reasoned:
Team India can certainly exercise the option of playing both seam-bowling all-rounders in the playing XI if Hardik is fit to bowl his full quota of four overs.
“Venkatesh Iyer is grabbing his chances with both hands” - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Venkatesh Iyer has done his chances no harm with his impressive performances. He elaborated:
The 44-year-old concluded by pointing out that the duo can be useful in Australian conditions. Chopra observed:
Team India have more often than not been hit hard by their lack of batting depth. They could opt to play Hardik, Venkatesh and Ravindra Jadeja together to mitigate the problem if all three of them are fully fit and at the top of their game.
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