'Much more relaxed' - Hardik Pandya elated with Rohit Sharma's return to ODIs against Sri Lanka

India's vice-captain Hardik Pandya has expressed his happiness at the return of regular skipper Rohit Sharma for the ongoing three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Hardik opened up about him being able to spend more time concentrating on his skillset.

Rohit Sharma had been rested for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, so the captaincy hat was donned by Hardik Pandya. Pandya was impressive indeed and led India to a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka.

Can now focus on well-being: Hardik Pandya on Rohit's return

Ahead of the 2nd ODI versus Sri Lanka, the India vice-captain expressed his thoughts, "Ro (Rohit Sharma) is back so it is much more relaxed. I can focus more on my well-being and try to share all my knowledge. If they need my help or advice, I'm always there. The body is very good, we are following a plan and the workload is being managed rightly with the WC just 6-7 months away."

Hardik also went on to speak about fellow teammate and bowling all-rounder Axar Patel. He seemed pretty impressed with the way Axar has grown as an all-rounder over the years.

"It has made a big difference, the only request I had from him (Axar) was more contribution from his batting. He has worked tremendously, helps my life knowing Axar is after me, helps the team play a certain balance. He's upped his game massively in the recent past, makes the team feel more confident," stated Hardik.

In the 3-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, Axar Patel scored 117 runs with the bat and scalped 3 wickets. His highest score in the series was 65.

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the second game of the ongoing three-match ODI series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. The hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series as they edged past Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the opening ODI. 

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