Hardik Pandya or Vijay Shankar for World Cup? Sunil Gavaskar weighs in

India has forever been fascinated with seam bowling all-rounders and hence there could be a race between Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar for the role.

After a rather tense start to his international career, when he struggled to get going against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy, Vijay Shankar has given glimpses of his abilities as an all-round option in the ongoing series against New Zealand.

File picture of Vijay Shankar (AFP)

India has forever been fascinated with seam bowling all-rounders and hence there could be a race between Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar for the role. However, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar is impressed with Shankar’s temperament and wants the selectors to give him a long rope before passing their verdict.

“Vijay Shankar has a chance for the World Cup. You need an extra seamer in England. He is a good all round fielder too. He showed in the ODI (5th ODI in Wellington) where he got the team out of trouble with the bat. He read the game situation well with his experience of having led in domestic cricket. You build hopes on a player who reads match situations well. He should also be under consideration,” he told India Today.

There is a scope for improvement too, as the Tamil Nadu-man needs to work on his bowling. Hardik’s improved returns as a bowler has overshadowed Shankar and this could be an impediment for the young man.

“I think he should be playing all the three T20 games. Give him games after games and you would know if he has what it takes. Because if there is a situation that even after the five ODIs vs Australia, we don’t find a fourth fast bowler we can rely on, then we should be open to having Hardik Pandya as the fourth seamer in the squad and Vijay Shankar as an additional option,” Gavaskar further added.