Pandya played in neither the Melbourne nor the Sydney games.

He was suspended and sent back home ahead of the ODI series, alongside KL Rahul, in the aftermath of the Koffee With Karan fiasco, only to be flown out to New Zealand midway through the ODI series when the suspension was overturned. It’s debatable if all this toing and froing across time-zones in a short span of time impacted his back adversely, but it must be worrisome that Pandya has pulled up short again after just six international appearances since his return from injury. He provides not just balance as an all-rounder, but also genuine firepower with the bat and a happy knack of picking up wickets with his fast-medium. India will walk the extra mile in trying tothe next fortnight. Pushed down and up the order and, at one stage, out of the reckoning, the Karnataka stylist has wended his way back into contention with successive blistering efforts in the T20Is. That he played both the T20Is while first-choice limited-overs openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan played only one game each must be construed as the surest indication that the think-tank is still weighing up the need for a third opener at the World Cup. Should Rahul continue his sensational ball-striking, and translate lovely cameos into more substantial edifices, he will most likely settle the debate and comprehensively prove that he has put the harrowing last few months emphatically behind him. The one point of great intrigue will be just how much rope India are