Baroda Ranji team’s newest coach Dave Whatmore said that Hardik Pandya, who plays for his side in Indian domestic cricket might have a major role to play for India once international cricket resumes.

"Hardik is an asset to any side. His presence will motivate the other players in the team. He will also play for Baroda whenever he is available, and be a great source of strength,” Whatmore said.

Hardik Pandya was due to return to international cricket after a lengthy rehabilitation in the home ODI series against South Africa, but with that been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, his return to the Men in Blue side gets longer.

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"Hardik is an impact player and it is always good to have a player of his class on the team. He needs to be used judiciously, and he’ll deliver. For example, when we need a guy to hang around, score runs quickly and also build a big partnership. Or if we need a guy to break a difficult partnership. Hardik is the go-to player and he will deliver. He has the ability to up the quality of his game and plays an impact inning,” the Baroda coach further added.

All Baroda players have started their fitness training and will start with skillset regimens shortly.

"Fitness training started some time ago. Work on skillsets will start as soon as possible. Once you come after a long layoff, you should not rush into heavy training. I would like them to progressively start working on their skillsets," the new coach said.

Whatmore is also the state’s director of cricket and recently had an online session with Baroda’s cricket coaches of all age groups.

"I had my first interaction with all of them (34). I asked them to have a friendly approach to coaching. I also reminded them that it is players who make coaches successful, not the other way round,” he said.

(newindianexpress.com inputs)