India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, opened up on how Hardik Pandya’s return to the T20I side is a massive boost for the Indian team, as his quality across multiple facets of the game gives India the balance they need when playing in the shortest format.
The 32-year-old all-rounder is all fit and ready for his return after sustaining a quadriceps injury during the Asia Cup, resulting in him missing out on the final against Pakistan. As a result of the injury, he was unable to feature in the ODI and T20I series against Australia and the ODI games at home against South Africa as well.
With his return to the side, India regains a solid option with the bat and ball and hopes that there won’t be any further deterrents as the team looks to maintain their unbeaten series-winning streak in T20Is since the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian team.
“I think what you saw in the Asia Cup also, when he was bowling the new ball, he opened a lot of options, a lot of combinations for us with respect to playing XI,” Suryakumar Yadav said during the pre-match press conference in Cuttack.
The Indian captain confirmed that both Pandya and the vice-captain, Shubman Gill, are all fit and ready to feature in the side for the T20I series beginning on Tuesday, December 2.
“Right now, both of them look healthy and fit,” he said.
