“Such Players Are Needed In The Team”: Former India Selector On Hardik Pandya

All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who led Team India during the Ireland series and also in the fifth and final T20I against West Indies, has been relishing the responsibility given to him. Starting from IPL 2022, where he led the debutants Gujarat Titans to the title, to his all-round performance for the national side, he has been making winning contributions. As the team now gears up for the upcoming Asia Cup, former India wicketkeeper and ex-chief of the selection committee, Kiran More praised Hardik Pandya for getting his fitness level up to be able to bowl four overs in addition to his batting and said that players like him are always needed in the team.

“Yes, definitely. The way Hardik Pandya has got back in form, bowling to 140-147 km. When the captain gets such a player in the team who can bowl 4 overs and take wickets as well as gets runs for the team and a finisher as well, such players are needed in the team,” said Kiran More on Star Sports show ‘Follow The Blues’.

Earlier, when Hardik had led Team India to victory in the fifth and final T20I against West Indies, he expressed that he will be ‘more than happy’ if he becomes a full-time captain.

“Yeah! why not? If I get an opportunity in the future, I’ll be more than happy to do that, but right now we have the World Cup, and we have the Asia Cup (coming up),” Hardik had said in a post-match presentation.

“We’re going to focus on that and make sure as a team what we’re doing, we continue (with that) and make sure that all the skillsets, which we are learning we can keep getting better at it, and at the same point of time enjoy the game as well,” he added.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Monday announced the 14-members squad for the upcoming Asia Cup, with Rohit Sharma as the captain and KL Rahul as the vice-captain.

The star pacer of India, Jasprit Bumrah, and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.

Promoted

Three players — Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar — have been named as standbys.

India’s squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan.