IPL 2022: 'The whole country will be watching him. We all know what he's capable of' - Shastri on star India cricketer

Former India coach Ravi Shastri feels that the 28-year-old India cricketer will be the cynosure of all eyes when the IPL commences.

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League starts this week and this time, the battle for the top spot becomes all the more tough for existing franchises, as they need to see off not seven but nine teams. With Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans making their debuts entering the fray, IPL 2022 will mark only the second instance of 10 teams doing battle for the ultimate prize.

Ravi Shastri has backed India's players to come good.  (Twitter)

While MI and CSK are expected to start as favourites, all eyes will be on the LSG and GT to see who they fare. Both teams are being led by dynamic Indian cricketers. KL Rahul takes over as LSG captain, while Hardik Pandya will be in charge of an IPL team for the first time. The season holds all the more significance for Pandya, as it will determine where he stands in terms of making a comeback into the Indian team. The all-rounder was dropped from all squads after the T20 World Cup, after which Pandya returned to the NCA and worked on his bowling and batting. Whether he bowls is a surprise, as Pandya mentioned, but former India coach Ravi Shastri feels that the all-rounder will be the cynosure of all eyes when the IPL commences.

"The whole county would be very closely watching Hardik Pandya in the IPL, we all know what he is capable of. Like Hardik, there will be a lot of other players who are knocking at the doors of the Indian team," Shastri said on Tuesday during a press conference organised by Star Sports.

With India in search of its next long-time captain, Shastri ensured that the upcoming edition of the tournament will go a long way in determining who takes over from Rohit Sharma as the next captain of the Indian cricket team. With the likes of Rahul, Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal leading their respective side, Shastri reckons the IPL 2022 could well end the search of India’s next leader.

"Virat is not being captain anymore, but Rohit has also been outstanding especially in white ball. India will be looking at who will be captaining the team (in future) - there is Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul. India will be looking for a solid captain for the future and here is the opportunity That is the beauty of the IPL, last IPL we saw Venkatesh Iyer, no one had heard of him and by the time it got over he was in Indian team. So, you expect the unexpected," Shastri pointed out.