T20 World Cup: Gambhir’s warning, Hardik Pandya must bowl – Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir has warned that for one-dimensional Hardik Pandya to get into India’s Playing XI in the T20 World Cup, he must bowl at hundred percent in the warm-up matches in T20 World Cup. Hardik has been struggling with fitness.
“For me, Hardik Pandya gets into India’s playing XI only if he does proper bowling in both warmup games, not only in the nets. There is a huge difference between bowling in the nets and against quality batsmen like Babar Azam and that too in the World Cup,” Gautam Gambhir said.
T20 World Cup: Gautam Gambhir declares, ‘Hardik Pandya must bowl to get into India’s playing XI’
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During the recently concluded IPL 2021, Hardik Pandya did not bowl throughout the season and managed to score just 127 runs at a strike rate of 113.39 for the Mumbai Indians. But to this, the cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir said that Hardik Pandya’s poor form with the bat in the lucrative league means that he cannot have a spot in the Indian team if he is not bowling.
“He has to bowl in the practice matches and the nets, and he has to bowl 100 percent. If you are thinking that you will come and bowl just at 115-120 kph, I will not take that risk,” Gautam Gambhir added.
Where to play Hardik Pandya? Hardik is the big agenda for Virat Kohli and the team management. Everyone knows Panday is unlikely to bowl.
- In this situation, if the team punts on him, expecting that his ‘MS Dhoni-esque’ helicopter shots will come off, they would have to decide which is a better slot for him.
- Is it above Rishabh Pant at No. 5, or at No. 6, where he may get only 15 balls at the max to show his prowess?
T20 World Cup: Gautam Gambhir declares, ‘Hardik Pandya must bowl to get into India’s playing XI’
T20 World Cup: India will take on England and Australia in two warm-up matches on October 18 and 20 and it remains to be seen if Hardik Pandya returns to bowling action. During Mumbai Indians stint, Hardik declared that he would return to bowling soon but his recurring back problem has cast doubt on his plan.
Even though skipper Virat Kohli backed him to take the spot as a batsman in India’s Playing XI, the selectors and team management aren’t really happy with his one-dimensional approach. Many see him as a roadblock for Shardul Thakur, who has proven to be a good batsman in Tests.
T20 World Cup: Gautam Gambhir declares, ‘Hardik Pandya must bowl to get into India’s playing XI’
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