Mohammad Kaif: Last Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the 15-member Team India for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 to be played in USA and West Indies from June 2. The selectors have appointed Rohit Sharma as the captain and Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain of the team.

Fans and some cricket experts are raising questions on Hardik's selection in the team and making him the vice-captain. However, now former Team India player Mohammad Kaif has given a big statement and called Hardik Pandya a better player than Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.

Mohammad Kaif praised Hardik Pandya

While talking to Star Sports, Mohammad Kaif said that Hardik Pandya is a very important player for India in ICC tournaments and he has the ability to win matches single-handedly. Not only this, he called Hardik a better player than Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. Kaif said,

“I consider Hardik Pandya to be the most influential match-winner in ICC tournaments. He has left even Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav behind. Recall India vs Pakistan matches. In Melbourne, Virat Kohli scored 82 runs, but it was Hardik Pandya who made significant contributions, sharing a 40-run partnership and also taking three wickets.”

He further said, “During the match against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023, Hardik Pandya displayed his finishing ability in the final over against Mohammad Nawaz. He took charge of the Indian innings after the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja.

Mohammad Kaif told the Indian team to be balanced

43-year-old Mohammad Kaif also gave his reaction on the Indian squad selected for the T20 World Cup 2024 and described it as 100 percent balanced. They said,

“100% it is a very balanced team. However, it is also important to understand that this is not IPL. In IPL, you have 14 league matches, if you lose a match, you can always come back and win the trophy. But the format of the World Cup is different. In the beginning you face weaker teams and then in the semi-finals you play against stronger opponents like Pakistan or England. To win the trophy you have to win two important matches (semi-finals and final).”

Indian squad selected for T20 World Cup 2024 –

Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shivam Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh. , Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Reserve players – Shubhman Gill, Rinku Singh Khalil Ahmed, Avesh Khan.