'It is good to have these kinds of competitions for No. 5 and 6' - Sunil Gavaskar on India's middle-order conundrum

Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar opined that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s return to the Indian ODI squad in the future might increase the competition in the team. Heading into the next year’s 50-over World Cup at home, India have plenty of middle order options like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya.

As far as the middle-order positions are concerned, Iyer is a proper batter and so is Rahul, with the only difference being that he can be used as a makeshift wicketkeeper. However, Hardik Pandya is a proven all-rounder who can bat, bowl, and take some stunning catches on the field.

There is a certain Hardik Pandya who is also likely to come back: Sunil Gavaskar

“When you have someone breathing down your neck, like KL Rahul will feel Shreyas Iyer is breathing down his neck, which is again good for Rahul because he would want to go out there not taking any match lightly. He would want to score in every game. And both of them are outstanding fielders and KL Rahul can keep wickets which is a huge plus. Iyer can also bowl. So it is good to have these kinds of competitions for No. 5 and 6 not to forget that there is a certain Hardik Pandya who is also likely to come back in the one-day side sooner than later,” said Gavaskar while speaking to Sony Sports.

There indeed is a cut-throat competition in the Indian team's middle-order heading into the ODI World Cup next year and all the players fighting for this spot have looked in good touch so far.

Shreyas Iyer has had an excellent year so far, having amassed 639 runs from 15 matches including a century and five half-centuries. Meanwhile, vice-captain KL Rahul has so far featured in eight games this year, scoring 229 runs including two half-centuries.

Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, might have only played in three One Day Internationals this year, against England during the away series, but he has made some good contributions on the 22 yards and shown improvement in the wickets column. The 29-year-old scored 100 runs in two matches including a half-century and registered six scalps to his name from three outings.