The Afghanistan ODI series may have been framed as another step in India’s march towards the 2027 World Cup, but beneath the victories lay a more specific objective: expanding the country’s all-rounder resources beyond the security blanket of Hardik Pandya.

India has spent much of the last decade orbiting around Hardik Pandya. He is not merely an all-rounder. He is a solution to several problems at once: a middle-order hitter, a finisher, a seam-bowling option, and a balance-restorer.

His absence due to a quadriceps strain handed the team management an opportunity to assess a range of candidates. Nitish Kumar, along with spin-bowling all-rounders Washington Sundar and Harsh Dubey, featured during the series, while Harshit Rana returned to the squad after a lengthy injury layoff.

Gurnoor Brar, meanwhile, showcased the pace, aggression and lower-order batting potential that have increasingly attracted the selectors’ attention.

Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate suggested that India’s planning extends well beyond identifying immediate replacements.

“It (the all-rounder pool) is really good. I would still say the majority of those guys are bowling all-rounders. And when Hardik’s fit, he obviously brings a different element because he’s such a strong batter and such a strong finisher. Sort of role scarcity… it is difficult to find a finisher who gives you overs as well.

“Those guys are all tracking really nicely. With Nitish, for the last 18 months he’s shown glimpses of how important he can be to this team, particularly in this format. I feel his body’s getting stronger and stronger, and I sort of feel he is the natural successor or backup to Hardik,” he said.

Ten Doeschate’s comments revealed a broader emphasis on lower-order batting depth, particularly with South African conditions in mind.

“Certainly, (it’s good) to see these other guys chipping in and working on their games — even someone like Gurnoor and Harshit. They’re bowling all-rounders, but the fact that we feel we’ve got guys who can hold the bat at No. 9… Obviously, looking forward to the next 14-15 months, that is going to be very important, especially in South Africa when you want to play three seamers, three proper out-and-out seamers,” he said.

The series highlighted the variety within India’s all-rounder pool. Add Harshit’s return, and the options suddenly appear plentiful. As ten Doeschate put it: “All of a sudden the cupboard seems very full.”

With 2027 on the horizon, that depth may prove as valuable as any individual star. India is no longer searching for one all-rounder. It is building a pool.

Shreyas Iyer picked the perfect evening to score his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) ton as he powered Punjab Kings to a comfortable seven-wicket win over the Lucknow Super Giants.

“He’s a tremendous leader of many. He reads the game well,” said PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin after the game.

“There are two main things that I think I enjoy most about him. One is his care for his players, and the other is his appetite for the big moment. He’s seen that tonight. He wanted to be the one to make the difference, and that’s what you want from your leaders, whether it’s for the IPL or for your country,” added the 48-year-old.

Haddin emphasised that the team’s overall execution in high-pressure situations has been a major focus behind the scenes.

“I think as any coaching staff, you have to identify moments where you need to get better, and that’s what we’ve done. A lot of the games we lost went to the last over and a couple to the last ball where we were close, but we probably weren’t identifying those big moments,” he said.

While one captain delivered when it mattered, his counterpart, Rishabh Pant, had little to show for his efforts — either on Saturday (May 23, 2026) or across a grueling season.

LSG’s Global Director of Cricket, Tom Moody, felt his captaincy and batting are correlated. “From a captaincy point of view, he’s found it challenging, obviously, and the results reflect that. And you have to wonder whether that is a pressure that is reflected with his performance with the bat,” he said.

“And certainly when it comes to the leadership of the franchise, it’s something that we’ll be giving some very serious consideration to what it looks like in the future,” he added.

Rajasthan Royals assistant coach Trevor Penney on Saturday (May 23, 2026) dismissed concerns over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fielding abilities, insisting that the teenage batting sensation has been used as an Impact Substitute purely to keep him fresh for batting duties.

The 15-year-old, who recently earned a call-up to the India A squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, has largely featured as a batting-only option in the ongoing Indian Premier League season. That usage pattern had prompted questions around his fielding standards and athleticism.

Penney, however, made it clear that Sooryavanshi’s exclusion from the field had nothing to do with his abilities.

“He is a very good fielder. He has got great hands. He moves well. He dives. He anticipates. He has got all that,” Penney said on the eve of Rajasthan’s crucial league fixture.

According to the former India fielding coach, the Royals management has merely tried to optimise the teenager’s workload through the tournament.

“Sometimes with him opening the batting, him going in in the second innings being fresh, it’s worked for us,” Penney explained. “There is no specific reason why he is a bad fielder or we are not playing him in the field. It’s nothing to do with that.”

Penney added that match situations and combinations had occasionally forced the team to prefer more experienced fielders on the park.

“But generally it’s been to keep him fresh for his batting,” he said.

The Royals think-tank also appeared impressed by Sooryavanshi’s maturity despite his age, particularly highlighting his game awareness during a recent chase.

“You saw in the last game he had 10 off 11 balls and he was so determined to win that game. That’s why he didn’t go in and just try and hit from ball one,” Penney said. “He has really got a good brain for a young guy as well.”

Assistant coach Parthiv Patel said Gujarat Titans would look to maximise the impact of its pace attack against Rajasthan Royals by striking early in Saturday’s (May 9, 2026) Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

“If we get wickets at the start, then we have quite an upper hand in the game. Our plans are quite set, and we are quite comfortable with the way we are playing right now. With the kind of bowling attack we have, we would want to restrict them to the minimum score possible,” he said on Friday.

Parthiv reserved special praise for the new-ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, highlighting the pressure they have created in recent matches.

“Both are highly performing players at the international level. You know the pedigree both of them bring, especially with the new ball. Rabada bowling 150 kph consistently and the way Siraj has been putting pressure — it’s great to see.”

He also hailed the influence of Jason Holder, calling him “that proper all-rounder” capable of anchoring an innings or finishing aggressively, while also bringing tactical awareness with the ball.

Parthiv also praised Rajasthan youngsters Ashok Sharma and Manav Suthar, calling the former “a very good prospect” with “a very bright future for India” while highlighting the latter’s maturity and consistency in domestic cricket.