Hardik Pandya did a commendable job with IPL newbies Gujarat Titans, who won the crown in their first-ever season. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson also excelled in the leadership role. Rahul led new entrants Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs while Rajasthan finished as runners-up under Samson. The success of Indian players as captains augurs well for the national team but coach Rahul Dravid will face the tough task of finding the perfect team combination in the run-up to this year's T20 World Cup. (Also Read | Rishabh as opener in T20 WC? Ex-India batter gives his verdict on whether Pant becomes 'backup' for Rohit-Rahul)
Samson, who has had an uneven spell with the Indian team, gathered 458 runs while leading the Royals in the just-concluded IPL edition. Samson isn't a part of the five-game T20 assignment versus South Africa but former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels the batter has more shots up his sleeve than any other Indian player playing in Australian conditions.
“(Short ball discussion) it will come into play in these 20 games. Between Tripathi, Samson, and Iyer, there will be opportunities now. But when you look at Australia, bounce, pace, cut, pull, Samson will always threaten there. For that conditions, he has more shots than any other Indian, to be honest,” Shastri told ESPNcricinfo.
Shastri also spoke about star players including Virat Kohli playing the T20 showpiece event in Australia. Kohli and Rohit Sharma saw a subdued IPL season with their respective sides but Shastri doesn't see them getting dropped from the national team.
"Because of the proximity to the World Cup, I don't think they (Rohit, Kohli, Pant, Bumrah) will play all of these 30 games. They will be shared with others. Unless something drastic happens due to injury, I can't see them missing out."
{{/usCountry}}"Because of the proximity to the World Cup, I don't think they (Rohit, Kohli, Pant, Bumrah) will play all of these 30 games. They will be shared with others. Unless something drastic happens due to injury, I can't see them missing out."
{{/usCountry}}Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori also echoed the words of Shastri, saying the experienced names have proven themselves many a time on the international stage.
"Such players have a problem track record that you can sustain a tough run. I think they have proven themselves in big situations where they have performed for India so many times that you want them in your World Cup team. When you right their names on the team sheet, it just feels right and inevitably they will perform," he explained.