Hardik Pandya defends management's decision to rest Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli

Backing team managements decision to rest stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the second and third ODIs against West Indies star allrounder Hardik Pandya said it would help India give opportunities to youngsters ahead of the World CupSkipper Rohit and former captain Kohli were rested once again in the final ODI of the series which India won 21 after a whopping 200run victory here on Tuesday under Hardiks leadershipVirat and Rohit are very integral part of the team And you know obviously this was very important for someone like Rutu Ruturaj Gaikwad to get a game or Axar Patel to get a game because theyve been playing cricket for so many years they know how exactly all these situations have beenSo kind of giving the youngsters exposure and kind of making sure that if we want to check something we have the opportunity to do it Hardik said at the postmatch presentation ceremonyAfter failing to fire in the first two matches Hardik blazed away to an unbeaten 52ball 70 in the seriesdeciding third ODI and he thanked Kohli for helping him out during a wonderful chatI had a very wonderful chat with Virat a couple of days back and the kind of input he gave me he has seen me throughout the years Its been almost seven or eight years of international cricket and he has seen me from day oneAlso Read Was there any pressure from broadcasters to put Rohit Kohli in team Netizens raise questionsHe just wanted me to spend some time at the crease and get used to the 50over game He had some great pointers That kind of stayed in my mind Hardik saidI was just waiting to get the opportunity and once I got the rhythm I could get going When I get one ball out of the middle things become very different I have seen that throughout my careerHaving suffered defeat in the second ODI India were in danger of losing their first series in the Caribbean in 17 years but an allround effort ensured a thumping victory for the visitorsIf Im being very honest as a captain I look forward to these kind of games where something is on the line and not just an international game We knew that if we failed there would be some disappointment Hardik saidThe way the boys came out and showed their character and at the same point of time they enjoyed it thats something I want this team to have In pressure situations they have to absorb it but also enjoy it Without pressure you cant be heroesIn the final ODI India were always ahead after making an imposing 351 for five after being asked to bat firstShubman Gill struck 85 off 92 balls and along with inform Ishan Kishan 77 off 64 balls set the platform for a massive scoreSanju Samson 51 off 41 balls made a compelling case to be picked as a reserve middleorder batter while Hardik smashed five sixes and four boundaries on a good batting stripThe chase was always out of question and Mukesh Kumars threewicket burst with some quality seam bowling in the first powerplay dashed the West Indies hopes as they were shot out for 151 in only 353 oversOn the India seamers Hardik said The ball was doing a bit When you are chasing 350 batters will chase a few balls and they nick it and thats what happened to us Couple of good catches by Shubman as wellObviously West Indies woke up kind of late with that partnership and took the game to the 34th over but the game was over in the powerplay itselfWith agency inputs