Hardik's form a blip, says Raina, 'He'll shine vs Pak'

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina on Sunday expressed confidence that 'Men in Blue' will do well during the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA from June 1 onwards, however, he cautioned that they should get used to the 'drop-in pitches' and weather conditions there as soon as possible.

The T20 World Cup will start on June 1 and will be played in venues in the USA and the Caribbean till June 29.

Speaking to the media at an event of Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh's Chhattisgarh Premier League (CPL), which will take place in June this year, Raina said, "The team is balanced. Rohit Sharma is the captain. Virat Kohli is in fine form and Suryakumar Yadav is in good touch. Two left-arm pacers are going, who can bowl in powerplay. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are going."

"However, matches there are at 10:00 AM in the morning. The wickets are also drop-in. The team should get used to these wickets and conditions as soon as possible," he added.

On vice-captain Hardik Pandya's poor run of form in the IPL, Raina said, "He has done really well (for India). Temporary poor form does not make someone bad. When he will perform well against Pakistan in the World Cup, everyone will praise him."

MI had a poor IPL season under Pandya's captaincy, winning just four out of 14 matches. In 14 matches, Pandya scored 216 runs at an average of 18.00 and a strike rate of 143.04, with the best score of 46. He also took 11 wickets at poor average of 35.18 and economy rate of 10.75.

India are placed in Group A of the ICC tournament alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. India will then play the USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.