You see Hardik usually walk out to bat in the 14th or the 15th over. That’s what happened last night at SCG, though this time, it was a 50-over game. With India being kept reeling at 101-4, there were large questions unanswered in terms of if Hardik could stick around and build an innings with the team having to climb a mountain.

The result was good. Hardik smoked a 76-ball 90 and kept India in the hunt for the most part of it before he was dismissed 10 short of a well-deserved maiden ODI ton.

Having proved his worth as a pure batsman, Team India did miss Hardik Pandya - the bowler. Will we see Hardik bowl soon?

"It is a process. I am looking at a long-term goal where I want to be 100% of my bowling capacity for the most important games. The World Cups are coming. More crucial series are coming. Whenever it is required,” Hardik said.

And rightfully. India will play three World Cups from 2021-2023 and his role with the ball will mean a lot to the balance of the team.

"I am thinking like a long-term plan, not short term where I exhaust myself and maybe have something else [injury] which is not there. So it is going to be a process, which I am following. I can't tell you exactly when I am going to bowl but the process is on. In the nets, I am bowling. It is just that I am not game-ready but I am bowling. It is all about confidence and the skill has to be at an international level."

Apart from genuine all-rounders, India has had a rich history of part-timers being able to do the job. Right from Tendulkar and Sehwag to Suresh Raina.

Not to forget Yuvraj Singh’s role at the 2011 World Cup with the ball.

Now only with Hardik and Jadeja as the all-round options on this tour, India has a sixth bowler’s gap to fill.

"We have to find and maybe make… I have always believed that… even when I came into the circuit, I was not always the allrounder which I wanted to be. But with time I groomed myself and became that bowling option. I worked on my bowling.” 

"Yeah, it is always going to be difficult when you go with five bowlers. When someone is having an off day you don't have someone to fulfil the quota. More than injury, the sixth bowler's role is when someone among the five bowlers is having a bad day. I think it is going to be… maybe we will have to make, maybe we will have to find someone who has already played India, and groom them and find a way to make them play."

Hardik also had a cheeky mention of his brother Krunal who has already represented India in the shortest format.

"Maybe we should look in the Pandya family only. There is one sitting at home."

India take on Australia next with this series on the line on Sunday, November 29.