Carrara, Nov. 5 -- Former all-rounder Shane Watson attributed the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the underlying factor behind the limited growth of Indian all-rounders' skill set with the ball.

In the ongoing white-ball tour of Australia, India toured with a 15-member squad without its premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been sidelined due to an injury. Shivam Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy were included in the mix, but the latter sustained a quadriceps injury and was ruled out of the first three T20Is.

India certainly felt Pandya's absence and succumbed to a 2-1 ODI series defeat. According to Watson, Pandya, who is one of the most "valuable" assets in the Indian setup and makes the team balanced, is somet...