Former Indian opener Robin Uthappa feels Hardik Pandya not been given the T20I captaincy by the selectors might be the best thing for him. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel has clarified that they picked Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Pandya as the latter has been injury-prone throughout his career.
Uthappa believes it is a good thing for the all-rounder as a responsibility has been taken off his shoulders and he can concentrate on his game to prolong his career. Pandya is India’s solitary seam bowling all-rounder and Uthappa reckons the all-rounder should feel he is being taken care of.
Robin Uthappa said on Sony Sports, “If I were in Hardik’s place, I would actually feel taken care of to a certain extent. If I’m 34-35 years old and I’m someone who’s been injury-prone through my career and a certain responsibility has been taken away from me with the mindset of extending my career and giving me the best chance to offer my services to my country for as long as possible, keeping that in view, I would actually say OK this is the best thing for me.”
Uthappa added that Hardik Pandya will understand the team’s perspective behind the decision and feels it is in the interest of the all-rounder’s career.
“If you asked me between the two what I would pick as a human being, I would say, serving my country and winning as many World Cup championships, irrespective of whether I was a captain or whether I was just a player. Knowing Hardik Pandya on a certain level, I would say he’d be someone saying it’s fine, their perspective is also right. They want a player of my quality and my caliber to be able to serve my country for as long as possible. And I would love to do that as well.”
Pandya 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 and thus played a key role in India’s memorable win.
Pandya will be seen in action in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
