Pandya, the premier all-rounder, has been saddled with leadership duties at various levels. He had led India in the second and third ODIs against West Indies in the absence of rested Rohit and is also the leader of the side in the shortest format

'His form will be crucial to us. He's a guy who does both the things (batting and bowling), and that's important. In the last year or so he has come up with the bat and his bowling has been good too. That's important for us,' said Rohit after chief selector Ajit Agarkar named a 15-member squad for the mega event in India

'You saw the quality in the last game against Pakistan. Ishan and Hardik put their hands up and scored well. Obviously, with bowling too he's great. He has bowled well in the last year and a half for us. The way he batted in the last game showed that he has a very mature head on his shoulders. These are good signs for us,' said Rohit

Rohit was also pleased with Pandya after the latter made a composed fifty in India's Asia Cup opener against Pakistan on Saturday. Pandya and Kishan constructed a century stand to rescue India from a precarious 66 for 4 and carried the team to 266 in a rain-marred match

Rohit has not forgotten that India's record in the multi-nation tournaments is not up to the scratch in the last few years with the last ICC trophy coming way back in 2013. But he hoped that the ODI format will give his side a bit of breathing space and a chance to comeback even if the start goes awry

(With PTI inputs)