Sports Desk: Former Indian cricket team opener Aakash Chopra believes that the injury to Hardik Pandya will hamper the balance of the team ahead of the Cricket World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand on Sunday. Pandya suffered an injury during the match against Bangladesh and he was ruled out of the next match in Dharamsala. Chopra picked Suryakumar Yadav to replace Pandya and as a result, he believes that Shardul Thakur will be replaced by pacer Mohammed Shami to strengthen the bowling.
Hardik underwent scans following the injury in Pune on Thursday and is heading to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for his recovery.
India will play New Zealand in Dharamsala on October 22.
Aakash Chopra’s picks for Indian cricket team playing XI against New Zealand in Cricket World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
