Can Hardik Pandya Be India's Third Seamer In T20Is? Ex-India Batter Weighs In

06.09.2022 - 14:07 sports.ndtv.com

Everything was going hunky-dory for the Indian bowling unit as long as Hardik Pandya was delivering with the ball alongside his batting post his return from injury, but the medium pacer's performance against Pakistan in the Super 4 stage last week has probably once again given rise to a few old questions - Can Hardik be trusted to be one of the frontline seamers and bowl his full quota of four overs in every game possible or should he be looked at as a stop-gap arrangement?

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Hardik should be roped in into the squad as a fourth medium pacer but not as the third.

Hardik leaked 44 runs in his four overs with only one wicket in the Super 4 match against Pakistan and Manjrekar feels that keeping the all-rounder as the 4th medium pacer in the squad would help him bowl less than his quota of four overs in case he fails to deliver. "I think there were important lessons that came through last night and you could see Rohit Sharma on the field was pretty animated.

I think they've made some important notes. One thing that came through for me and I'm sure for the team management as well is that if you at some point of time want to play just three medium pacers, Hardik Pandya cannot be one of the three," said Manjrekar on Sports18's daily sports news show 'Sports Over The Top'.

cricket India Cricket Team 2022 Hardik Pandya Asia Cup India Sri Lanka Pakistan Sanjay

Openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, put on a record partnership as Pakistan defeated England in the second match of the seven-match T20I series on Thursday at National Stadium in Karachi. Babar anchored the Pakistan chase with an unbeaten 110 from 66 balls, while Rizwan played complemented him with an unbeaten 88 off just 51 balls. Chasing a target of 200, Babar and Rizwan took the home with three balls to spare. While Rizwan has been in top form for the team, Babar's form had slightly dipped during the Asia Cup.

"Has Been A Very Good Finisher": Matthew Hayden Defends India Pacer's Death Bowling

Team India faced a terrible defeat against Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series in Mohali on Tuesday. Despite a great show with the bat by Hardik Pandya, who smashed 71* off 30 balls, Team India failed to defend a target of 209. Cameron Green (61) and Matthew Wade (45*) rose to the occasion and provided Australia with a four-wicket win. The pacer duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel leaked a total of 101 runs in their combined eight overs.

IND vs AUS: Important To give Jasprit Bumrah Enough Time After Comeback From Injury, Says Hardik Pandya

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya said the team will not put too much pressure on Jasprit Bumrah and give him ample time to make his comeback from an injury after the pacer was not included in India's playing XI for the first T20I against Australia. Bumrah was missed badly in the series opener against Australia on Tuesday as the visitors chased down 209 rather comfortably to register a four-wicket win and take the lead in the three-match series. Barring Axar Patel, all Indian bowlers leaked more than 11 runs per over.

India look to lock middle-order, sixth bowler ahead of T20 World Cup

Though a few fast bowlers will be rested over the course of six games before the World Cup -- three matches against South Africa to follow after the Australia series -- India have a full strength squad at their disposal to finalise combinations. The T20 format is a lot about being flexible but as he mentioned ahead of the first T20, India skipper Rohit Sharma would like to get 'all the answers' from his players before the flagship ICC event in Australia.

"XYZ Can Say Whatever They Want...": Ravi Shastri on "No. 1 Allrounder" Hardik Pandya

The Indian cricket squad for the T20 Word Cup has already been announced. Hardik Pandya holds a special place in the 15-member squad as he is the top all-rounder in the side. Pandya has shown maturity with the bat and has been bowling fast too. Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri, in his own inimitable style, reiterated once again that Pandya is the no. 1 allrounder in the T20I format. "I have already tweeted and posted on Instagram that he is the No. 1 all-rounder in this format of the game. What else do you need? I had said it two weeks back. What else is there to add or subtract? XYZ can say whatever they want... everyone is entitled to his opinion. My view is clear, which is what I tweeted a couple of weeks ago," Shastri told Sports Tak.

To create Hardik's back-up, selectors include Raj Angad Bawa in India A squad

The second and third matches are scheduled for September 25 and 27 respectively. Prithvi Shaw, who has been in fine form in the Duleep Trophy, is back in the mix along with most players, who were part of the ODI series in Zimbabwe.