"Ye Ladka Bahut Pasand Hai": Wasim Akram On "Fearless" India Star

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram was all praise for Hardik Pandya, saying that the all-rounder is his favourite player in the shortest format of the game. Akram's comments came ahead of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup Super 4 clash in Dubai. Both teams had met during the Group stage, and it was Hardik who proved to be the match-winner for India. The all-rounder took three wickets and played a decisive cameo of 33 not out off 17 balls. Ahead of the Super 4 clash, Akram labelled Hardik as a "fearless" cricketer, and added that the all-rounder reminds him of himself.

During an interaction Cricket Pakistan, Akram was asked to name a cricketer in whom he found he own reflection, he replied: "Mujhe ye ladka bahut pasand hai (I like Hardik Pandya a lot), especially in the T20I format. Because he is a proper all-rounder. Like Pakistan have Shadab Khan. Talking about Hardik, he has pace (clocks 140 kmph) and he is also an electrifying fielder. When it comes to his batting, he is fearless."

Akram also spoke about the mentality of the Pakistan team, insisting that the Babar Azam-led side Pakistan should play fearless cricket and make bold decisions.

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"Our team has this mentality that we might lose, I hope I'm wrong, but this thinking has to change. I think they are scared of their own people, largely because of social media trolls, which is wrong. Win or lose, there should be healthy criticism. We should look for solutions and move on," he added.

Hardik is expected to make his return to the Indian playing XI after he was rested for the game against Hong Kong.