“Hardik Pandya is a good bowler, who can become very ordinary” - Aakash Chopra on India’s bowling woes before T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal

Indian cricket player-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has stated that the Men in Blue's bowling attack isn't poor ahead of their T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final match against England. 

He did concede, though, that Hardik Pandya must be utilized appropriately, emphasizing that if the all-rounder is employed more near the end of the innings, he may be found wanting. 

On Thursday, March 5, India will play England in the second semifinal of the 2026 T20 World Cup in Mumbai. In their crucial last Super Eight stage match in Kolkata on Sunday, March 1, the Indian bowlers let the West Indies score 195/4. 

However, Sanju Samson's undefeated 97-run effort helped the co-hosts reach the mark with five wickets and four balls remaining.

Aakash Chopra showed concern about India’s bowling ahead of the semi-final against England. This was after seeing that Axar Patel is underutilized, Varun Chakaravarthy isn't always at his best, Arshdeep Singh appears shaky in the final overs, and Hardik only bowls one length.

"The bowling is decent. Is it our stronger suit? It's not at this point in time. However, I won't call it weak if some team has a bank of eight overs. I know Varun Chakaravarthy has been slightly weak, but he is still a very, very good bowler. Bumrah's four overs and his four overs, and if we remove Arshdeep Singh's one over, where he conceded 24 runs, Arshdeep has also done very, very well,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"He is a wicket-taker with the new ball, and, with the old ball, he has executed the yorkers by coming around the stumps. Hardik Pandya needs to be used properly. Hardik Pandya is either a good bowler or can become very ordinary if you bowl all his overs after the powerplay and you keep his two or three overs after the 10th over. Axar Patel is also a very reasonable bowler. So I don't think our bowling is very weak," he added.

Hardik Pandya has picked up six wickets at an economy rate of 8.68, with best bowling of 1/40 in this T20 World Cup 2026. 

Should Shivam Dube bat before Hardik Pandya against England? Aakash Chopra answers

Aakash Chopra was questioned in the same video on whether Shivam Dube ought to move up in the batting order for India's match against England in the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal.

"I do get it, but the problem is that you also want to play Hardik Pandya up the order because he is also a mighty player. He is a clutch player, and we will once again look towards him when the semi-final comes.

He is a phenomenal player. I won't disturb Hardik Pandya. I want to play Shivam Dube and send him up the order because his two fours were very important. There is a temptation to send him up the order, but can we? I am not a 100-percent certain," Chopra observed.

In six innings at the 2026 T20 World Cup, Shivam Dube has amassed 166 runs at a strike rate of 156.60. In his seven innings, Hardik Pandya has amassed 172 runs at a comparable strike rate of 156.36.

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