Ahead of Indias West Indies tour for the ODI, and Test matches, Former Indian cricket team head coach, Ravi Shastri believes that Hardik Pandya will not be able to play or cope with upcoming matches after his injury. He thinks that Pandya should focus on white-ball cricket. Recently, in the IPL (Indian Premiere League) 2023, all-rounder Pandya showed brilliant captaincy skills for Gujarat Titans, and the former head coach said that he should become the white-ball skipper after the ODI World Cup 2023. Speaking to the media, he clarified that Rohit should be captain for the World Cup but Pandya should take over once the tournament is done. Ravi Shastri reacts to Pandyas injury Shastri said, “Lets 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.”Further, he said that Sanju Samson is yet to realise his worth and potential, adding that he wanted to see at least two left-handed batters in Team Indias top six for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held at home. The veteran cricketer also supported the inclusion of Sanju Samson in the ODI setup. He believed that the batter was to realise his potential at the international level, and it would be a disappointment if the same were not to happen.Sanju has yet to realise his potential “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 to Sanju,” he added.
