Former Indian opening batter and commentator Aakash Chopra has opened up on Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah’s injury concerns. Notably, his comments came right after the BCCI review meeting last week.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted that the Indian players’ workload will remain under focus. Interestingly, the BCCI decided to give the players more rest between every two international series.
“The players’ workload will remain under focus because there is IPL along with international cricket, and if you see, Hardik Pandya hasn’t played for a long time, and Jasprit Bumrah has also missed a lot of cricket. There was a lengthy discussion on that. It was decided to give more rest to the players between two series,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player added that an away ODI series against South Africa ahead of the 2027 World Cup is being considered.
Further, Chopra advised the BCCI and Indian team management to plan an away ODI series to South Africa ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup 2027, which is scheduled to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year.
“A roadmap has been prepared for 2027. If we have to go to South Africa and play World Cup matches, can we go to South Africa before that and play a bilateral series? Can we acclimatize ourselves a little more?” he added.
The BCCI review meeting held on September 3, 2026, focused heavily on India’s overseas struggles, managing the escalating players’ workload crisis, and having a clear strategy for the mega event next year.
The meeting was attended by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, President Mithun Manhas, Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, captains Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Center of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman.
