Under-fire Hardik Pandya was a vital element of India's Twenty20 World Cup campaign, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Thursday, defending the star all-rounder's inclusion after a patchy IPL season.
Pandya was named as vice-captain earlier this week for next month's showpiece 20-over tournament, jointly hosted by the United States and West Indies, with veteran Rohit Sharma leading the squad.
He replaced Rohit as captain of Mumbai Indians in this year's Indian Premier League but has been relentlessly booed by crowds after failing to match the form of his popular successor.
"He's come after a long-ish layoff... The hope is that he keeps building on that form," Agarkar said.
"We know what he brings, how much balance he gives to the team. I don't think there's a replacement for the things that he can do as a cricketer at the moment, especially when it comes to the way he bowls," he added.
"It will give Rohit options to play different combinations."
The tournament will mark the return of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant for his first international matches since a horror car crash 16 months ago, after impressing with his reinstatement as Delhi Capitals captain in the IPL.
Fellow wicketkeeper K.L. Rahul was left out to make way for Pant, with Agarkar stressing the need for the squad to retain more middle-order batting options.
"K.L. is a terrific player. We all know that. The thing we are obviously looking at is guys who bat in the middle," Agarkar said.
At the moment, K.L. is batting at the top... Rishabh is batting at five for Delhi," he added.
"That was more the thinking. It wasn't whether K.L. is better or these guys are better. It's about the slots that we needed."
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India begin their World Cup campaign against Ireland in New York on June 5.