“There is no one close to him”: Ravi Shastri hails Hardik Pandya as most important cog of India’s Asia Cup 2022 squad

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri has called Hardik Pandya the most important asset of India in Asia Cup 2022.

The return of Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been immense in competitive cricket. After being dropped out of the Indian side after the T20 World Cup last year, he made his return in the IPL 2022 with Gujarat Titans. The Titans won the title of IPL 2022 under the captaincy of Hardik.

Pandya scored 487 IPL 2022 runs at 44.27, whereas he also scalped eight wickets with the ball. He was drafted in the Indian side after the IPL and has been great since then. He recently won the Man of the Series trophy in the ODI series against England.

In the last T20 World Cup, Hardik played as a pure batter, and he was heavily criticized because of fitness issues. He is all set to be India’s main man in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022.

Ravi Shastri hails Hardik Pandya

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has called all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the most important cog of the Indian side in the Asia Cup 2022. He said that if Hardik goes out of the side, the balance of the side will go away as the team will be confused about playing an extra batter or bowler.

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“He (Pandya) is one of the most important cogs in the wheel as far as India is concerned,” Shastri said in a press conference organized by Star Sports.

“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.”

What a lovely series win 🇮🇳
Well done to this wonderful team 👏🏾🔝 pic.twitter.com/v4EsPHlBvQ

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) August 7, 2022

Shastri advised India to use Hardik carefully in the upcoming matches. He said that Hardik is an extremely important asset to the side, and he should not be played in all the games going ahead. Shastri admitted that he missed Hardik’s all-rounder role in the last T20 World Cup.

“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. He is the last person you want to play in all those matches.”