'He's not started bowling yet'- Rohit Sharma gives an update on Hardik Pandya

India T20I vice-captain Rohit Sharma has said the team might try a few options for the fifth and sixth bowling options during the International T20 Cup. Currently, the team has Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur in the 15-member squad as seam-bowling all-rounders. Pandya didn’t bowl an over during the five games that he played during the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has also not returned to bowling yet.

The selectors hence named Thakur as a backup option to Pandya. Rohit Sharma, who was the captain of Mumbai Indians feels Pandya will soon be seen with the ball in hand before India begins their International T20 campaign against Pakistan.  The opening batter spoke about the all-rounder and the possible combinations the team could explore during the showpiece event.

"He's getting there. He's not started bowling yet, but in the next few days he starts bowling, and he should be ready when the World Cup starts. Possibly Myself, Virat, Surya. We'll all bowl and see if we can chip in with a sixth option. Not really. Even if we play with five bowlers, we've got the quality. The sixth bowler just gives you an extra option in case someone is having a bad day," Rohit said while speaking at the toss during the team's warm-up game.

India won their first warm-up match against England by seven wickets. Opening batters KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan managed to score 51 and 70 runs respectively. The bowlers though had an off day as they conceded 188 runs against England. Rohit Sharma said the team is trying the sixth bowling option during the second warmup game, which got underway versus Australia on 20 October.

"We obviously want to make sure we get our sixth bowling option in as well. There are a few other things in the batting order which we want to try. Possibly, today is the day we try all those things," Rohit Sharma added.