Aakash Chopra wants Lucknow to drop this batter

Lucknow have has had a good start to their Indian T20 League 2022 campaign. They have played a smart game of cricket and have registered two wins in their three games. They lost their season opener against Gujarat but registered the next two wins against Chennai and Hyderabad. However, despite a successful start, they have some problems they will need to address and rectify.

One of the major problems for them is Manish Pandey's failure at number three. In the three innings, he has scored just 22 runs. Batting at number three is a huge responsibility, and Pandey has not been able to live up to the expectations. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra also thinks that the Karnataka batter should be dropped in Lucknow's next game.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, 'For how long will you stick with Manish Pandey? I think they should look beyond him. Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni can bat up the order. What’s the point of Jason Holder coming in at No. 8 or 9. Krunal Pandya too hardly gets to bat. They have a long batting line-up."

Explaining further, he said that Lucknow can play an extra bowler in his place. He stated that the lower-order batters are not getting many chances to bat in this set-up.

"They can drop Pandey and play an extra bowler in K Gowtham or Ankit Rajpoot. It’s a harsh decision, but one that needs to be taken if Lucknow have to move forward in the right direction. I hope Gautam Gambhir takes it because Pandey is not just cutting it at this point of time. He has been given a prime number, as a result, the in-form batters are getting fewer overs to play," Chopra said.