Pandya says after the T20 World Cup defeat, “Don’t need to prove anything to anyone.”

• After a disappointing conclusion to his team’s T20 World Cup campaign
• Indian captain Hardik Pandya is eager to watch young players in action in the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand

India will play New Zealand in a three-match T20I and ODI series, beginning with the first T20I in Wellington on November 18, just a few days after the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup concludes.

The majority of the veteran players, including Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Rohit Sharma, have been rested for this series, and Pandya has been named captain to lead in the T20Is. Pandya is eager to see how the young players perform in the series because the absence of the senior players presents a fantastic opportunity for them to demonstrate their mettle.

“A lot of the main players are not here but at the same time the players who are already here are also playing for India for the last couple years. So, they have also had ample time in international cricket to express themselves and show what they can do. Very excited for them, it’s a new bunch, new guys with a lot of new energy. So, it will be quite exciting to watch them play,” he told reporters in Wellington on Wednesday.

Pandya also went on to talk about India’s big loss in the T20 World Cup semi-final to England. He said that although they are very disappointed with the way things turned out, they need to cope with it and move forward to deliver better performances in the upcoming contests.

“The disappointment is there but we are professionals and we need to cope up with it. We have to cope up with our failures in the same way we treat success and should move forward to get better and rectify our mistakes,” he said.