Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan lauded Hardik Pandya for making a stellar comeback in the T20 World Cup. Pandya could not deliver the goods while leading Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Pandya scored 216 runs in 13 innings at an average of 18 and picked 11 wickets at a high economy rate of 10.75 in the lucrative tournament.

However, Pandya was able to turn the tables in the T20 World Cup 2024 as he delivered with both bat and ball. The right-hander scored 144 runs in six innings at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57 in the T20I showpiece. Pandya also scalped 11 wickets in eight matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.61.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya also got the big wicket of Heinrich Klaasen with a wide slower delivery on the first ball of the 17th over in the all-important final when South Africa needed 26 off 24 balls and then dismissed David Miller in the last over. Pandya returned with impressive figures of 3-20 in the three overs he bowled in the final.

Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports, “It’s been a special journey for Hardik Pandya. Coming back from all the criticism, I was actually the one who criticised him because he was not performing during the IPL time. He was making a lot of mistakes at that time.”

“From there to coming back and winning the World Cup has been special. He showed the character, he performed to the T. With Rohit Sharma, with Jasprit Bumrah, the kind of performance he did to make a difference to the Indian cricket team has been so special,” Pathan stated.

Pandya is also one of the favorites to take the T20I captaincy baton after Rohit Sharma’s retirement.