Former Indian legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar feels Hardik Pandya will bat at number five or six in the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa. Pandya mostly batted at number four while leading Gujarat Titans in the recently concluded Tata IPL 2022.
The right-hander is well known for his explosive batting as a finisher and he played the same role for his former team Mumbai Indians as well as the national side. However, Pandya decided to bat with more responsibility for Gujarat Titans and played with a sedate approach.
He scored 487 runs in 15 matches at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 131.26 in Tata IPL 2022. Moreover, he played a huge role in the IPL Final against Rajasthan Royals as he returned with impressive figures of 3-17 in his quota of four overs at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Moreover, he scored a crucial knock of 34 runs off just 30 balls in the run-chase of 131 runs.
Sunil Gavaskar feels the duo of Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya are going to make a potent combination for the Indian team in the T20I format.
“I think he’ll probably be slotted at five or six. Just imagine, if India has a Hardik Pandya and a Rishabh Pant at five or six. They can probably swap around a little bit — that is going to be some explosive combination from the 14th to the 20th over. In six overs, you can probably expect even may be 100-120 runs. They are capable of doing that. So, that’s going to be an exciting aspect. That’s something I’m really looking forward to — Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya batting at five or six,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports following GT’s IPL triumph.
Hardik Pandya was at his absolute best in Tata IPL 2022 and came up with scintillating performances throughout the season for his team. Pandya led from the front and many cricket experts were impressed by his brilliant captaincy.
In fact, Pandya was returning to action after recuperating from injury and this performance would have given him a lot of confidence. Pandya will now be seen in action against South Africa as the first T20I will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
