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Cricket Players'We missed him badly in last year's World Cup. There's no one close to him': Shastri identifies 'quality' India player
Before Team India's departure for the UAE for the Asia Cup, former India head coach Ravi Shastri hailed 28-year-old India star as “one of the most important cogs in the wheel” for the balance he provides to the line-up.
India have ticked all the boxes so far heading into the Asia Cup 2022 tournament and the impending T20 World Cup in October, including the one that troubled them the most in the last World Cup edition in the UAE. And before Team India's departure for the UAE for the Asia Cup, former India head coach Ravi Shastri hailed 28-year-old India star as “one of the most important cogs in the wheel” for the balance he provides to the line-up.
_1658729471711_(1)_1661257654474_1661257662426_1661257662426.jpg "Ravi Shastri; Indian cricket team")
Speaking to Star Sports on Tuesday, Shastri was full of praise for India all-rounder Hardik Pandya and explained how important he is to the Indian playing XI. He admitted that if Hardik is dropped from the Indian side, then the entire team will fall apart in terms of balance.
"He (Pandya) is one of the most important cogs in the wheel as far as India is concerned," Shastri said. “You take him out of the squad and the balance goes away. That's how important he is. You don't know whether to play an extra batsman or an extra bowler.”
Hardik was part of the India squad in the T20 World Cup last year, but featured only as a batter which disrupted their balance and denied them an extra bowling option. It became one of the key reasons behind India's forgettable campaign in the UAE last October where the team had suffered a group-stage exit.
“We missed him really badly last year in the (T20) World Cup when he couldn't bowl. It makes a massive difference. There is no one close to him when it comes to the quality that he possesses at that number. I think he is an extremely important player and has to be watched very closely. With the number of matches coming up, he is the last person you want to play in all those matches,” Shastri added.
