India sealed their Super 4 spot in the Asia Cup 2023 on Monday with a 10-wicket thumping win over Nepal in Pallekele. India joined Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in the Super 4, and their first match in this round will be against Pakistan on September 10 in Colombo.
Just a day after that, India captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector attended a press conference to name the 15-man provisional squad for the World Cup 2023, which will start on October 5 in Ahmedabad. India can make tweaks to this provisional squad until September 27.
Hardik Pandya’s form will be crucial to us: Rohit Sharma
Ahead of the Super 4 round, India captain Rohit Sharma hailed Hardik Pandya, following his sensational innings with the bat against Pakistan which bailed the side out of early trouble as India had lost 4 wickets to the Pakistani pacers.
Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan staged a brilliant fightback with their partnership of 138 runs off 141 balls. Kishan hit 9 fours and 2 sixes in his knock of 82 runs in 81 balls while Hardik Pandya cracked 7 fours and one six in his innings of 87 runs in 90 balls.
Hardik’s form with the bat in the West Indies was disappointing but this knock against Pakistan has earned him all the goodwill again.
Rohit Sharma said that Pandya’s form with both bat and ball is very crucial for India going into the World Cup 2023 where he will have a massive role to play as an all-rounder.
“His form will be crucial to us. He’s a guy who does both the things (batting and bowling), and that’s important. In the last year or so he has come up with the bat and his bowling has been good too. That’s important for us,” Rohit said.
“You saw the quality in the last game against Pakistan. Ishan and Hardik put their hands up and scored well. Obviously, with bowling too he’s great. He has bowled well in the last year and a half for us. The way he batted in the last game showed that he has a very mature head on his shoulders. These are good signs for us,” the Indian skipper added.
