'Hardik Pandya’s Performance Will be as Important as Rohit Sharma's And Virat Kohli’s': Harbhajan Singh on IND's Batting in ODI WC

Harbhajan Singh suggested that India need to put up a collective effort in the batting department to lift the ODI World Cup. The Indian batting unit didn’t live up to the expectations in the recent 50-over matches as recently they faltered against Pakistan in the group stage clash of Asia Cup 2023. Several key players including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill failed to score big runs at a consistent level which has become a worry for the team ahead of the World Cup.

Harbhajan feels that senior campaigners Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will hold the key for India in the batting department.

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“I believe batting is something that needs to come good because we have seen the batting since the past few weeks. It has been up and down. So, a lot will depend on Rohit and Virat Kohli, and how well they bat,” the veteran spinner said on Star Sports.

Talking about other batters, Harbhajan pointed out that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are coming after a long injury lay-off which put added pressure on Rohit and Kohli to come good in the World Cup.

“Shreyas Iyer has just come back after injury, Ishan Kishan looks good, and KL Rahul, we don’t know whether he will play or not after coming back from his injury,” he added.

Meanwhile, the veteran spinner also named one player who will be equally important for India in the batting department as Kohli and Rohit.

“Hardik Pandya’s performance will be as important as Rohit’s and Virat Kohli’s. If you look at this side from the top, it looks very strong, but the middle order hugely depends on Hardik and others’ form,” Harbhajan asserted.

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Hardik was the leading run-getter for India in the mega clash against in the Asia Cup. The flamboyant all-rounder scored 87 runs as he came out to bat at a tricky stage and reduced India from facing embarrassment alongside Ishan Kishan who scored 82 runs.

“So, I believe that they will all have to come together to play some amazing kind of cricket to lift the Cup; otherwise, it will be very challenging,” the veteran spinner added.