“Team India Is Incomplete Without Hardik Pandya” – Aakash Chopra

India gear up for their last T20I series before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026, facing New Zealand in the five-match T20I series amid key combination dilemmas. Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Game Plan’, JioStar expert Aakash Chopra highlighted the series' stakes against a full-strength NZ, Hardik Pandya's irreplaceable all-round role, and the need for SKY to play straighter early on.

Aakash Chopra analyzed the significance and key decisions facing India in the T20I series versus New Zealand:

"This five-match T20I series versus New Zealand is very important for Suryakumar Yadav and his team. New Zealand have also come fully prepared. In the ODI series they rested some players, but here their main T20 World Cup squad is playing. India

have some injury and form issues. The team management needs to finalize their combination because you will face similar situations at the end of January and in February. Will they play two pacers and three spinners? Which batters do they need? I am very excited. If Tilak Varma is fit, will they give Rinku Singh a chance or keep playing Shreyas Iyer? There are many questions to answer before this series."

On the growing reputation and "fear factor" that Abhishek Sharma now brings to T20 cricket:

"If we look at the last six to eight months, Abhishek Sharma has shown different sides to his game. I remember that match against Australia where wickets kept falling at the other end, but he still scored a great 74 runs and batted deep. The way he played in the Asia Cup was also impressive. The conditions were tough, but in the first six overs he pulled the match towards India with incredible skill. He is an incredible player. Now, the interesting thing is that his reputation arrives before he does. There is a fear of him now, the kind that Rohit Sharma had in this format."

On Suryakumar Yadav’s need to rebalance his game and focus on playing straight early in his innings:

"Suryakumar Yadav's game is still dominated by his bottom hand. Even for his 360-degree shots behind the wicket, he uses his bottom hand a lot. But now, it is time for him to give himself a little more time at the crease. He needs to remind himself that he plays well on the offside too. That is why we call him a 360-degree player. It means he can score all around the ground, not just on the leg side. The shots he plays on the leg side also need to be hit straighter. And if you give him room, he can play through the offside. He needs to remind himself he has more ways to score. Early in his innings, he should aim to hit down the ground. In the last few matches, he has gone for aerial shots and gotten out. He must decide that he will play shots along the ground early on when he comes to bat."

On the unmatched and crucial role that Hardik Pandya plays in the Indian side:

"Team India is incomplete without Hardik Pandya. There is only one Hardik in the entire world. What he provides with bat and ball, no one else in India can do. You might want a spinner like Varun Chakaravarthy or Kuldeep Yadav in the eleven, but then you also need a batter at number eight. You can't have everything, you can't field twelve players. Only Hardik can do this for you. He can bowl with the new ball and make an impact, and he bowls at the death too. He even bowled the final over of the 2024 T20 World Cup which India won. Only Hardik can do such things. You won't find anyone else like him."