Haven't Had Discussion Over Hardik Pandya Playing As Pure Batter - Rohit Sharma

Indian white-ball captain Rohit Sharma revealed that the Indian team’s doors are open to everybody who performs and it applies to Baroda all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, as well.

In addition, Rohit mentioned that the management hasn’t had any talks regarding Hardik joining as a specialist batter. The 27-year-old Hardik has had issues with injuries that have taken a toll on his bowling. When he isn’t offering crucial overs with the ball, his place in the side comes under scrutiny.

“Hardik is an important player. He brings three skills into the team. We have not had any discussion over him playing as a pure batter. It’s important for us to have all players available.”

“Since the world cup, we have had many injuries. It is important for us to have all players available first, then we can think about the second step which is analysing opponents, conditions, and players of what skillset would suit,” Rohit said in the virtual press conference on Tuesday.

“We have not fixated on anyone” – Rohit Sharma

The process of building a squad for a major tournament takes a while. There is a lot of testing process and Rohit intends to do the same with all the options that he has at his disposal.

“Doors are open for everyone. We have not fixated on anyone. In Australia, we’ll play in very different conditions. We’ll need players of different skillset. We need to prepare players accordingly, be it spin all-rounder, fast all-rounders or lower-order batters. We need to see the bowling options too, new ball, death overs, spinners in powerplays, etc. Right now, we are dealing with the options we have,” Rohit added.

For now, India will take on West Indies in a 3-match T20I series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting on Wednesday.

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