India needs Hardik Pandya, he is an important member of the team: Yuvraj Singh

Listen to Story Yuvraj Singh has claimed that the Indian cricket team needs Hardik Pandya and the all rounder is an important member of the team. Hardik suffered an ankle injury while playing against Bangladesh, which led to him missing subsequent series against Australia and South Africa, as well as the T20I series against Afghanistan.

As the T20 World Cup and IPL 2024 approaches, there is a concerted effort for Hardik to regain complete fitness. Despite the setbacks, he is , aiming for a strong comeback to contribute significantly to his team's performances in these high profile tournaments. Speaking to TOI, Yuvraj was asked about if it was a gamble to project Hardik as a future India captain.

The World Cup winner went on to say that the all rounder should be given the time to recuperate and settle down. Yuvraj also believes that the team management needs to make sure that they get the best out of Hardik. In terms of captaincy, Yuvraj feels that India needs to have more options apart from Hardik.

"Hardik is a very important member of the team and India need him." "He is injury prone and we need to give him time to recuperate and settle down. We have to get the best out of him. As for captaincy, we need to have more options. There is Suryakumar Yadav, who has been captaining India in T20Is.

There is Shubman Gill, who be captain in IPL," said Yuvraj. Hardik was traded to Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024 season and the five time champions also decided to take the bold step of . Yuvraj would comment on the matter and said it is tough for an ageing cricketer to maintain his role as skipper in franchise cricket as the team will be looking to promote a youngster.

Despite this, the former all rounder feels that there isn't a replacement when it comes to experience and feels that Rohit has delivered. Yuvraj concluded by saying that he feels MI was thinking long term with the appointment of Hardik. "In franchise cricket, it always gets tough as you get old.

Every franchise is always looking to promote a young player on whom they have spent a lot, and that is only fair. I have faced this situation too. But then, there can’t be a replacement for experience. Rohit has huge experience and has delivered. But a franchise has to think long term," said Yuvraj..