All-rounder Hardik to play an important role in World Cup says Yuvraj singh

Mumbai:Yuvraj Singh has said that all-rounder Hardik Pandya had a great chance of performing really well with the ball and bat in the upcoming 2019 world cup in England.

Speaking at a promotional event on Saturday, he said, ''Hardik Pandya could make a big impact for India, given the form he carries into the World Cup from the IPL.'' 

''I was actually having this conversation with him yesterday where I told him that "you have a great chance of performing really well with the ball and bat," the kind of form he is in at the moment.

"Definitely, the way he is batting at the moment, it is phenomenal and I hope he carries that form (into the World Cup). He has been bowling well in patches but as I said it is all about how you handle the pressure... I just hope that Hardik has an awesome tournament, the way he is batting at the moment," he added.

Yuvraj said, ''Pandya got 91 from 34 balls against KKR, probably that is the best innings I have seen in the IPL just because he hit four quality bowlers he was batting against." Yuvraj is excited by the form of India's batsmen, but he also asserted that T20 form cannot be a guarantee of ODI form.

"See you can't really compare T20 form with 50-overs. In T20 you don't have enough time and you have to hit fours and sixes and it's a different ball game, while in 50 overs you have enough time to settle down and score runs, you can't really assess 20-overs form for 50 overs,'' he said.

"MS Dhoni is in good form, Rohit Sharma is hitting ball well so is Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan. If you look at 90 per cent of the guys they are in good form. At No 6, Kedar Jadhav, you get less opportunity to show your form so I'm pretty happy with the way all the guys are playing." Yuvraj said while commenting on other batsmen.

The 2019 World Cup begins on May 30 with England facing South Africa at The Oval. India's campaign begins against South Africa on July 5. When being asked about world cup favourites, Yuvraj replied that my first two teams were England and India.

"My first two teams are England and India. Obviously with David Warner and Steven Smith coming back from their ball-tampering bans, Australia will be in contention. West Indies also looked a very power-packed side. You can't say much at this stage. I think it would be India and England first, third would be Australia. Fourth I don't know. I will tell you later," Yuvraj said.(UNI)