Irfan Pathan has lauded India captain Virat Kohli for believing in Hardik Pandya’s all-round abilities. In last six months, Pandya has become team India’s ‘player for all situations’ as he has continuesly been winning matches for the team. “It is great to see players being backed. Sometimes, you always wonder, players, who were not backed enough and could have otherwise had a longer career,” 32-year-old Pathan told.
“For any player’s rise, not just Hardik’s, the backing of captain plays a huge role. Kedar (Jadhav) for example was doing fantastically well in domestic cricket for so many years but he got the backing only under Virat,” said Pathan, who last played for India in 2012.
“Virat is backing all the youngsters, not only one or two. If you have the backing of captain and team management, the player will perform eventually. Rohit (Sharma) got the backing of Mahi bhai (Dhoni) consistently and now look at him, he is now one of the best batsmen in the world,” he said.
