The India T20I squad returned empty handed from the world cup in Australia after losing to England in the semifinal but Hardik Pandya says they have to cope with the disappointment and move on while rectifying mistakes.
“Yes, we all know there is disappointment of the World Cup but we are professionals and we need to cope with it. How we cope with our success we cope up with our failures (as well), move forward and look forward to get better rectify our mistakes,” Pandya told reporters on Wednesday.
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Pandya will captain a young India T20I squad against New Zealand in a three-match series starting this Friday. He says a lot of players will be tried ahead of the next T20 world cup slated to be held in 2024.
“Yes, the next T20 WC is almost two years so we have time (to unearth new talent). A lot of cricket will be played and a lot of people will get enough chances.” he said.
While Pandya did admit that the work to build the team for the next showpiece event starts now, he feels there’s still a lot of time to do so. Among the major decisions will be easing out a bunch of seniors including current captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin among others.
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“The road map starts from now. But it’s too fresh right now. We have a lot of time so we will sit down and have conversations on those grounds,” Pandya said.
“Right now it’s making sure that the boys enjoy playing here. We will talk about the future later,” he added.
Several senior members of the T20 World Cup squad aren’t part of the New Zealand tour but that doesn’t mean the team lacks experience as the likes of Shubman Gill, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson have played enough cricket.
“The main boys are not here but the same time the talent which the guys who are already here, they have also been playing for one and-a-half, two years now,” the allrounder said.
“They have had ample chances and enough time in international cricket to express themselves and show what they have. Very excited for them, new bunch of guys, new energy and excitement,” he added.
While the next big tournament in white-ball cricket is the ODI World Cup next year but that doesn’t diminish the importance of the T20I series in Pandya’s eyes.
“Every series is important. You can’t play an international game thinking its not important. Yes World Cup is there but that’s a different format, it’s 50 overs. But it is an important series for a lot of boys who if they eventually do well here will be able to put a strong case going forward,” he said.
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