Former India captain Kapil Dev believes Hardik Pandya not bowling in the ongoing T20 World Cup won't affect India's run. The Mumbai Indians all-rounder has not bowled since India's home series against England earlier this year, and played as a specialist batsman in the warm-up game versus England.

"An all-rounder always makes a massive difference to a team. Hardik not bowling will not impact India's chances, but it will make a difference in terms of Kohli's options. If an all-rounder is available for both, it enhances the captain's ability to rotate bowlers and gives him the extra option to fall back on," Kapil Dev was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

India next face Australia in the second warm-up match on Wednesday. The talking point, however, remains all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who didn't look comfortable in his brief stay against England.

With Pandya not bowling, it remains to be seen whether the Indian think-tank will play him purely as a batter.

Without his bowling, India will also miss the sixth bowling option in case one of the five-strong attack has an off day on the field.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had one against England on Monday, but Jasprit Bumrah was at his best.

Mohammed Shami picked up three wickets but went for runs, while Rahul Chahar was taken to task by the English batters.

And come Wednesday, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy are expected to get a look in before the main business begins.

On recent form, since losing the home series against Australia 2-0 before the 2019 ODI World Cup, India were unbeaten in eight series in a row.

Since the 2016 T20 World Cup, India have played 72 T20 matches and won 45.