Gambhir demands backup for Hardik Pandya

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir wants senior team coach Rahul Gandhi to identify a backup for the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya while taking on the World Cup 2023. On Thursday, the Men in Blue under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya will face Sri Lanka for the 2nd T20I at Pune. 

The Former World Champion believes that Team India has the chance of falling into trouble anytime if Rahul Dravid fails to identify a potential replacement for one of the best performers in the Indian squad in the lead-up to the World Championship 2023. Being the standby captain, Pandya and co. kickstarted the ODI World Championship year with a narrow yet impressive win over Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, 3rd January 2022. 

White-ball expert Pandya, who has been promoted to lead the team in absence of injured Rohit Sharma led the Men in Blue to a nail-biting two-run win, over the Lankan side in the T20I series opener. Substituting opener KL Rahul as the team’s vice-captain, the talented all-rounder is heavily pitched to be the successor of Rohit as the next India team captain. 

While talking about the rise of Pandya since his long leave because of injury, the veteran opener Gambhir suggested that India needs a backup for Pandya in the white ball setup. "They need to quickly identify a backup for Hardik; if something happens to him, India will be in serious, serious trouble," Gambhir said. The Pandya-led Indian side will clash against Sri Lanka in the T20I series decider at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Thursday.