India vs Australia 2019: 3 reasons both Hardik and Vijay Shankar should play in the T20Is

#1 Gives India the cushion to play an extra batsman or spinner

Vijay Shankar provides a good bowling option for India

Playing both Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar gives India yet another advantage as they have two extra seam-bowling options and don't need to play a third seamer. They can accommodate an extra batsman or a spinner or even someone like Krunal Pandya instead of playing Shami or Kaul as an extra pacer. This also works as a fail-safe for India because even if one of Hardik or Vijay fails to fire, the other one can back him up and this ensures that the team balance is maintained.

While Hardik is more of an out and out all rounder who excels equally with both bat and ball, Shankar has shown more inclination to the bat than with the ball.

This means that India have two quality all rounders who excel in both the departments and who knows, this experiment could very well pay off. Whether it does or not, there's no harm in trying!