ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Hardik Pandya to bowl in Super 12s, asserts Rohit Sharma

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is struggling with his batting form. He scored just 127 runs in 11 innings at a meagre average of 14.11 and held a strike rate of 113.39 for Mumbai Indians (MI) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, as his side failed to defend the title.

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Furthermore, he also did not bowl throughout the competition. When asked about the same to MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene, he clarified that he was being refrained from bowling due to workload management, while forcing him could affect his batting too.

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While Pandya has retained his spot in the Indian side for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, currently taking place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he is also expected to bowl. Team India vice-captain Rohit Sharma also assured the same.

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"Hardik is coming along pretty well, but it'll be a while before he will start to bowl. He hasn't started bowling, but he should be ready by the start of the tournament. We have quality in the main bowlers, but you need an option for a 6th bowler," he said during the toss of India's warm-up tie against Australia at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on Wednesday.

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Meanwhile, India decided to rest skipper Virat Kohli, along with pacer Jasprit Bumrah and seamer Mohammed Shami for this warm-up match. However, Kohli did bowl a couple of overs in the game, finishing with figures of 0/12.

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"We want to make sure that we get the 6th bowling option, some options in the batting order as well. We'll try all those things today. We wanted to bat first as well, just wanted to try and get runs on the board," Rohit further warranted.