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India spoilt for choice with the emergence of Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi

There will be stages in the Asia Cup 2016 when all teams will experiment, and those limited opportunities will be vital for the likes of Pandya and Negi.

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Hardik Pandya (left) and Pawan Negi © IANS
Hardik Pandya (left) and Pawan Negi © IANS

The inclusion of Indian public’s all-time favourite Yuvraj Singh and the other seniors in Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh, has somewhat overshadowed the fact that there are two absolute novices in Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi. While Negi is yet to play a match, the exuberance of Pandya was on display in his nervous shows in Australia. Indeed, with time Pandya will improve and so will his game, and Negi, who has impressed almost everyone with his fearless brand of cricket, will be expected to carry on the good work. Their emergence so far has certainly created the problem of plenty, albeit in a good sense.  Live Cricket Scorecard: India vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 1st T20I at Pune

India’s 15-member squad for the ICC World T20 2016 and the Asia Cup — to be played in Twenty20 format for the very first time — consists of the right blend of cricketers, which will help the team management and their captain to select a team which can meet the expectations. With Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Nehra coming together to help Dhoni shepherd the flock they have for the two mega tournaments, there is an army of talented batsmen and a good bowling arsenal that will help India to put a strong foot forward come these two tournaments.

Why Asia Cup 2016 becomes all the more important is simple to comprehend. Since the ICC World T20 2016 will be organised in India, the Asian teams will be the favourites to win the tournament. India will be the red-hot favourites, and we will have to wait and watch on how Pakistan and Sri Lanka pick up as far as momentum is concerned. ALSO READ: Statistical highlights and factoids of India vs Sri Lanka Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is)

It will be critical for India to not only try and keep the momentum going, they must also find a right balance. While Pandya featured in the three T20Is in Australia, Negi is certainly a surprise package from Indian cricket team and will be a player to watch out for. Both Pandya and Negi have been excellent for their domestic sides and their IPL teams.

While Pandya has made a name for himself in the Indian domestic circuit of late with some good, clean hitting, Negi has somehow gone unnoticed. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans will boast of the fact that in Negi they used to have an excellent hitter of the ball, whose natural talent was to hit the ball long and hard. The left-hander boasts of an array of strokes, and the ones that clear the ropes are usually massive.

Since there is a tussle between Pandya and Negi, it will be too early to discriminate between them and label them into categories. Both are good batsmen and are cut out for T20s, but it is with the ball that can play a role in their selections. While Pandya is a seamer, Negi is a spinner, something India does not necessarily need as they already have the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, not to speak of Harbhajan Singh.

The pair of Ashwin and Jadeja will be expected to lead the Indian bowling, supported by the likes of Nehra, Yuvraj, Pandya as well as Raina and Rohit (if needed). This is exactly where Negi faces strong competition from Pandya, otherwise on paper both the cricketers demand a dekko ahead of the ICC World T20 2016.

Nevertheless, the Indian cricket team management is likely to try out all their available options and combinations ahead of ICC World T20 2016. There will be stages in Asia Cup 2016 when all teams will experiment with the options that they have, and those limited opportunities will be vital for the likes of Pandya and Negi to push for their respective cases.

(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)

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