Mumbai, June 11 -- Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina higlighted the importance of building a backup for star all-rounder Hardik Pandya heading into the 2027 ODI World Cup, noting Nitish Kumar Reddy's recent fine performances in the Indian Premier League, adding that the backup should be given proper games to build confidence.

Pandya is missing from the ODIs against Afghanistan and also finds himself out of the T20I squads for the Ireland tour, England tour, and the Asian Games to be held much later in September due to injury. While training at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence, Hardik suffered a leg strain, which came after the back spasms that caused him to miss four of the Mumbai Indians' (MI) 14 games in the IPL.

During the IPL, Har...