Starting from August 18th, India and Ireland will be involved in a three-match T20I series. However, at around the same time, BCCI is planning a camp at the NCA for the players who will play in the ODI World Cup and Asia Cup. Therefore, Hardik Pandya could be absent from this series. Here, we take a look at three players who can take Hardik Pandya’s place if he is ruled out of the Ireland T20I series.
1) Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh will be a part of the Asian Games 2023 squad. However, even before that, he could make his debut for Team India.
Hardik Pandya’s role in the batting unit is to finish games. Rinku Singh is someone who can be groomed in this role. The Uttar Pradesh lad has the skills against the pacers to score quick runs. Therefore, he is someone whom India can trust.
2) Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar is one of the players who can take Hardik Pandya’s place if he is ruled out of Ireland T20I series. India would need a genuine all-rounder as India cannot completely replace Hardik with a pure batter. Hence, Washi might be needed in this case.
He can offer four good overs with the ball and could play at No.7. If India wants to try something different, they can promote him up the order, something that could aid his batting game.
3) Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda is not even in the main squad for the Asian Games. It would be unfair for him to keep him out of the setup solely due to IPL form.
India does not have too many batters who can genuinely offer services with the ball. Hence, in this regard, Deepak Hooda is a decent option. It will be down to the management on how to use his strengths with the bat. Also, he did well in Ireland last time around. This also might be a factor.
