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Team India, under Rohit Sharma's leadership and Hardik Pandya by his side as his deputy, is busy gearing up for the T20 World Cup 2024. Recent months have been turbulent for both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, the side's two senior figures, who will be looking to leave their ordinary IPL 2024 campaign behind and start afresh in the T20 World Cup. Their struggles extend beyond the international stage. In IPL 2024, both had a forgetful season in IPL 2024 while playing for Mumbai Indians, which finished at the bottom of the table. Rohit was subsequently removed from captaincy, and Hardik faced criticism from fans for the team's poor performance. Adding fuel to the fire, rumors swirled throughout the IPL season that Rohit and Hardik had a strained relationship, creating a potential rift within the Mumbai Indians dressing room.
As India prepare to launch their T20 World Cup campaign with Rohit Sharma as captain and Hardik Pandya as his deputy, head coach Rahul Dravid faces a crucial challenge, fostering unity between the two players. The recent turmoil at their IPL franchise, the Mumbai Indians, saw both Rohit (who lost his captaincy) and Hardik (who faced fan backlash) struggle. Additionally, rumors of a rift within the MI dressing room further raise concerns about potential team chemistry issues.
Hardik bowls full throttle to Rohit Sharma in nets
However, all the rift rumours were put to rest when Rohit and Hardik were seen training together in the India's practice session ahead of the T20 World Cup opener against Ireland. Hardik was seen bowling with full intensity at the nets against Rohit, suggesting a willingness to move forward for the sake of the national team.
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Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan echoed this sentiment, urging coach Dravid to focus on building trust and belief in Hardik's role within the Indian squad, rather than dwelling on the IPL drama.
“I will not even discuss this. Whatever happened has happened. I will just say that this is my expectation from you: I want you to win matches for India. This is the roadmap, and you are an important part of the team and a match-winner," Pathan told Star Sports.
"Being an all-rounder, I will say Pandya will play a crucial role. How many fast bowlers have we taken? Just three specialist bowlers, besides Hardik and Shivam Dube. So when the time comes, these 3-4 overs will become very crucial. Remember, he will allow us to play an extra spinner in West Indies when we play day games. So this is where he comes into the picture, he needs to feel good and believe that he can make a contribution and hence the conversation of the IPL should not be even happening even once,” he added.
Following their convincing 60-run victory over Bangladesh in a warm-up match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Saturday, the Indian team resumed training on Jun 4. They had a well-deserved rest on Sunday while Sri Lanka and South Africa utilised the practice facilities at Cantiague Park in preparation for their World Cup opener.
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