‘He is an extremely crucial player’ – Former India all-rounder lavish praises on Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya (Image Credit: Twitter)
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been an integral part of the Men in blue since 2019. In white-ball cricket, he has won games for the team either with the bat or ball. However, from his back surgery in 2019 to the 20-20 World Cup in 2021, Pandya struggled with his injury and form on the field. After the World Cup, he was duly dropped from the team.
However, since his return to the team in June last year, the all-rounder has been doing well. Recently, in the game against New Zealand in Indore, the Indian T20 League 2022 winning skipper scored a fifty and took a wicket at an economy of little over six an over. Meanwhile, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has lavished praises on Pandya. The former has said that it is difficult to a player like Pandya.
You will find very few players like Hardik Pandya in world cricket: Irfan Pathan
Pathan added that Pandya is an extremely crucial player in the team. 2007 20-20 World Cup winner, Pathan further added that it is difficult to stop someone like Pandya when in form.
“He is an extremely crucial player. You need a player who can both bat and bowl to get the balance. It is very difficult to find the ability that Hardik Pandya provides to the Indian team. You will find very few players like him in world cricket. He first showed his might in batting. The shots he played, the straight pull he hit – he was playing tennis on the cricket ground. It was an exceptional shot and after that also he showed his power and range in the other shots,” Pathan told Star Sports.
“If he is in form, it is extremely difficult to stop him. The knock came at the right time and fast as well because the other batters were finding it difficult to score against the old ball, but Hardik Pandya did not have that much difficulty,” Pathan added.
