Going into the T20 World Cup 2021 there was plenty of speculation surrounding Hardik Pandya. The Baroda all-rounder has bowled sparsely since his back injury in 2019 and hadn’t bowled even a single over in IPL 2021. Several former cricketers and experts suggested that India’s balance will be affected if Pandya doesn’t bowl.
That turned out to be the case in the first match against Pakistan. Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami looked extremely ordinary and the lack of a sixth bowling option made the attack completely toothless. As a result, India ended up suffering a 10-wicket defeat.
Hardik Pandya’s form with the bat doesn’t inspire plenty of confidence either. While he didn’t face enough balls to make a mark against Pakistan, the Mumbai Indians cricketer had a forgettable IPL 2021 season. Playing as a pure batter, he managed just 127 runs in 12 innings at a disastrous average of 14.11 and at a strike rate of just above 113. These are Pandya’s worst numbers in the league since IPL 2017.
Former Australian player Brad Haddin stated that the Indian think-tank will now have to make decision regarding the sixth bowler and whether they should play Hardik Pandya as a pure batter. Speaking to Fox Cricket, he said, “Interesting problem they have is the sixth bowler. Hardik Pandya is not bowling. Now will they start to doubt what’s been successful for them for a long period of time. Do they have to bring an all-rounder in to cover that sixth bowling option. So, they have got some decisions to make.”
However, Brad Haddin isn’t too worried about the Indian team despite their 10-wicket loss to Pakistan in their opening game in the T20 World Cup. In the post-match media interaction, captain Virat Kohli had said that Pakistan played superior cricket and that there was no need to press the panic button. Haddin echoed similar sentiments.
“I don’t think India will be too worried. Listening to the press conference, he (Virat) just said ‘we were beaten by a better team’ and that happens. It’s the first game of the tournament. They play T20 cricket as well as anyone in the world. So, that’s a classy response there (from Virat). I don’t think they will be worried,” he concluded.
