India’s vice-captain in ODIs, Hardik Pandya is happy with the return of regular skipper Rohit Sharma for the ongoing three-match series against Sri Lanka. Hardik said that Rohit’s return has given him a bit of rest and more focus on his health as a player. Notably, Hardik Pandya led India to a 2-1 win in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in Rohit’s absence earlier this month.
Talking about this to the broadcasters, Hardik Pandya said, ‘Ro (Rohit Sharma) is back so it is quite a relief. I can focus more on my well-being and try to share all my knowledge. If they need my help or advice, I am always there. Body is great, we are following a plan and workload is being managed properly with WC 6-7 months away.”
Hardik Pandya revealed that he had requested Axar Patel to contribute more with the bat and the all-rounder has done tremendous work in improving his batting.
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Pandya said, ‘It has made a lot of difference, my only request to him was that he should contribute more than his batting. He’s done a tremendous job, helps in my life knowing that the characters have my back, helps the team strike a certain balance. He has improved his game massively in recent times, which makes the team feel more confident.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat against India in the second ODI of the ongoing three-match series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. The hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after beating Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the first ODI.
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Speaking at the toss, Rohit Sharma said, “Wanted to bat first because of the way we played last time, but looking at the ground, I wanted to field. Overall, improvements happen as a team, nothing in particular. What we have done in the past is in the past, we need to look ahead and do better. I love playing here, the crowd here is energetic and that always motivates me. But that’s in the past, I need to start fresh. Made a change for us, Chahal took a dive in the last game and didn’t recover well today, so Kuldeep Yadav comes in.
