T20 World Cup 2022 | Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya need to be watched very closely, opines Ravi Shastri

India are all set to feature in Asai Cup in the coming days and the tournament will also provide a platform to prepare for the T20 World Cup this year. India haven’t won any ICC event since 2013 and they will look to change that under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Also, with jam packed schedule, the team will need to manage the workload of their first-choice players. Ahead of the T20 World Cup Ravi Shastri has named Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah as two crucial players and said that the team management will have to watch them closely. 

"He is one of the most important cogs in India's wheel. You take him out, the balance goes awry. We missed him last year at the World Cup where he could not bowl. No one is close to the quality that he possess," Shastri said in a press conference organised by Star Sports.

"He has to be watched very closely. With the games coming up (before the T20 World cup), Bumrah and Hardik need to be observed very carefully to ensure there is no breakdown. They are your two important players."

India have been batting with an attacking approach recently and are getting good results in white-ball cricket. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will return to the squad and so they will need to bat in the same template as well. While Kohli has been going through the worst phase of his career, KL Rahul will be playing after a while in Asia Cup. It will be interesting to see how these two players adjust to the team’s template but Shastri thinks that they will be able to play in an attacking style. 

"Why not? They are very experienced players. They have played enough IPL and T20s and it should not be tough for them to adjust. With Rishabh, Hardik, Jadeja there is enough depth in the middle and lower order to get the innings back on track if top order falls cheaply,” he explained.