Why Hardik Pandya coming back might help India fix what was never broken

Almost two years ago, India really struck gold when they gambled to go ahead with not one, but two leg spinners in the team, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. The duo was an instant success with both of them running through the attacks in the middle overs with a regularity that was alarming for the opposition.

It is an old adage that states that a team that takes wickets in the middle overs more often than not grabs the upper hand in the game. In India's case, it couldn't have been stated better.

Both Kuldeep and Chahal would flummox the opposition batting with such regularity that the teams could never breathe easy and stamp their authority. India dominated everyone they played against, they beat South Africa in South Africa because of the wrist spinners. The series against England too went down to the wire.

Hardik's injury was a massive blow to the Indian Team

The lineup seemed settled and everything seemed fine. But then, one freak incident changed everything. Hardik Pandya, one of the vital cogs in the team's World Cup plans got injured in Asia Cup and India had to call back Ravindra Jadeja after a long layoff. And what this revealed was a behind the door effort by the Indian team to fix what was just not broken.

Bringing in Jadeja and keeping the spin twins meant a three front-line spin attack with just two fast bowlers. Kohli himself as a captain seemed reluctant to go ahead with that, and ever since, the spin twins have been separated with Yadav getting the nod to play more often while Chahal waiting in the sidelines.

Ever since, India has tried out many bowlers for that third fast bowling option but either they haven't gotten the long rope they deserved or the players have just not shown enough to book their place.

The third fast bowler consistently went at more than six an over and hardly got wickets, begging the question why India did not persist with three front-line spinners especially after the kind of performances Chahal had given.

Chahal stormed back into the ODI team with a 6-wicket haul against Australia

With a rotation policy finally giving Chahal a chance, and him stamping his authority with a six-wicket haul, India once again gambled with the spin twins against New Zealand in the first ODI. The result?

The Kiwis were completely bamboozled and the duo picked up six wickets between them. But again, this came at a price of a genuine spinner in Jadeja who could by himself save 15-20 runs in an innings and snatch a wicket or two.

Hardik's return creates a lot more opportunities

Shankar is a makeshift option that India have tried in a couple of matches but he just can't be seen as a viable fifth bowling option who'll give you 10 overs every match (at least he hasn't shown that yet) and Kohli's reluctance to play the third specialist spinner does leave the side in a bit of a conundrum.

That's where Hardik Pandya's return fixes many things. It gives India the genuine proven all-rounder option and gives them the luxury to play both the spinners. Could this be the final piece of the puzzle for the World Cup? It certainly looks like it.