IPL can be platform to showcase Rohit Sharma's successor as Team India captain: Ravi Shastri

Hardik's form, fast bowlers' pool key focus areas, feels former India coachNEW DELHI: The IPL is around the corner and from India's perspective, skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid will look to plug in the gaps before the T20 World Cup in Australia. Ex-India coach Ravi Shastri, who will be back in the commentary box during this season's IPL, is waiting to see the form of allrounder Hardik Pandya. Due to a lower-back injury, Pandya is yet to play any competitive match post last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE. He will captain the Gujarat Titans team. "The whole country will be very closely watching Hardik Pandya in the IPL. We all know what he is capable of," Shastri said on Tuesday during a press conference. "Rohit (Sharma) and Rahul (Dravid) would love to see how he performs. If he can bring all three aspects of his game to the fore, then it is going to be outstanding. It will be fantastic from India's point of view."

Read AlsoIPL is one of the greatest physiotherapists, gets everyone fit before auction: Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has said the IPL acts as one of the world's greatest physiotherapists, with its ability to get the injured players fit in time for the league. In his own inimitable way, Shastri said what many within the cricket fraternity, and outside of it, feel.

With the T20 World Cup scheduled on fast and bouncy pitches in Australia, Shastri said: "One thing I can say is that they would be watching the fast bowling department more than anything else, as they are going to Australia in four months' times after the IPL." Shastri is waiting to see how some of the youngsters, who have recently walked into the Indian team, perform. "I would rather focus on players who have