“Young by age, but not by experience”: Hardik Pandya asserts faith in young Indian squad for New Zealand tour

Team India have selected a young squad for the New Zealand tour as some of the senior players have taken rest, whereas others have been dropped. Hardik Pandya is leading India’s T20I squad on the tour, and he has asserted his confidence in the young Indian side.

The first T20I between both sides in Wellington got abandoned without a ball being bowled. It would have been interesting to see the combination of the Indian team in this game as there will be a plethora of changes in the Indian playing 11 as compared to the T20 World Cup.

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Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Shubman Gill will carry a lot of eyeballs as the Indian team will look to change their approach in the T20Is, and even Rishabh Pant is a contender to open. Apart from them, Umran Malik and Washington Sundar are other players to look out for in this series.

Hardik Pandya asserts faith in young Indian squad for New Zealand tour

Indian captain Hardik Pandya talked to the broadcasters after the 1st T20I got washed out, and he asserted his faith in the young Indian squad on the New Zealand tour. He said that the guys are young by age, but they have a lot of experience playing in the IPL, so they don’t get intimidated by this.

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“These guys are young by age, but not by experience. They have played plenty of IPL and got good amount of Internationals as well. I think the youngsters of today don’t get intimidated by not having played too much cricket,” Hardik Pandya said to Amazon Prime Video.

Hardik insists that senior guys like him will play different roles on this tour as they want the youngsters to have proper opportunities on this tour. He although said that if there is a need, the experienced players will also make their chance count.

“If the situation demands, me and the more experienced players will play different roles, but this tour is for the new guys to get more clarity, opportunities and a chance to express themselves,” Hardik Pandya added.

Hardik Pandya on T20 World Cup disappointment

Talking about India’s exit from the T20 World Cup recently, Hardik said that the World Cup is done and dusted, and he has left that thing behind now. He insists that the disappointment of not winning the tournament will be there, but now the focus is on performing well in the upcoming matches ahead.

“The World Cup is done, I’ve left it behind. The disappointment will be there, but we can’t go back and change things,” Hardik Pandya said.