Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri believes that all-rounder Hardik Pandya will not be able to cope with Test cricket after his injury and he should focus more on white-ball cricket. Pandya showed brilliant captaincy skills for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Shastri said that he should become the white-ball skipper after the ODI World Cup 2023. In an interview with The Week, Shastri clarified that Rohit should be captain for the World Cup but Pandya should take over once the tournament is done.
"Let's be clear. His body (Hardik) cannot cope with Test cricket. After the World Cup, I feel he should take over captaincy in white-ball cricket. Rohit should lead India in the World Cup, no question there," he said.
Shastri also said that Sanju Samson is yet to realise his potential and added that he wants to see atleast two left-handed batters in India's top six for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held at home in its entirety this year.
Shastri supported the inclusion of Sanju Samson in the ODI setup. He believed that the batter was yet to realize his potential at the international level, and it would be a disappointment if the same were not to happen.
"There is Sanju (Samson), who I believe is yet to realise his potential," Shastri said.
"He is a match-winner. There is something that is missing. I will be disappointed if he does not finish his career all guns blazing. It is like when I was the coach, I would have been disappointed if Rohit Sharma had not played in my side as a regular Test player. Hence, his opening the batting. I feel similar with Sanju," he added.
(With ANI inputs)