‘We need to stop making a fuss about this’- Hardik Pandya gives firm verdict on non-striker run-out
Non-striker run-out has become the talk of the cricketing world although the law book allows for it. It all started when the Indian women’s cricket star Deepti Sharma, came up with a non-striker run-out to win the third ODI against England in September.
Amid all this chaos, Hardik Pandya, India’s best all-rounder, opened up on the fuss and said that the players and former cricketers need to put an end to it at the earliest. Further, the Indian allrounder said that if the law book allows for it, then it asks for the end of the debate. Pandya said that he will have no issues with getting dismissed in that way and admitted that it would be his mistake if at all he gets out of the crease before the ball is delivered.
“We need to stop making a fuss about this running out the non-striker. It is a rule, as simple as that. To hell with the spirit of the game, if it is there, it is there. Personally, I have no problem with it. If I am out of my crease, and someone runs me out, it is fine. It is my mistake,” Pandya was quoted as saying in the latest Cricket’s governing body review show.
I am running towards excellence: Pandya
Further, Pandya said that he does not care about matchups and added that it does not work for him either. The right-handed batter said that he focuses on the situation rather than matchups and added that it applies to those who bat in the Top 3 positions in the batting order.
“Matchups don’t work for me, see where I bat and the situation I get into, I do not get the option of matchups. You see matchups are more for the people who are batting in Top 3 or 4. For me, it is just the situation,” Pandya said on the show.
Commenting on his comeback, the fiery allrounder said that he works towards achieving excellence and not greatness. Pandya said that he wanted to end his career on a high for the Indian cricket team and added that he wants to achieve the goal at the earliest. “Ever since I have made a comeback, the ambition is to be the best version of myself and to get the best out of myself. I am running towards, not greatness I would say, but excellence,” said the right-handed batter.
“I am running towards excellence, if I want to achieve something, I think it would be excellence, not the performance. At the end of my career, if I can say to myself, you know what Hardik, you achieved excellence at one point of time, it would be great,” he added.