Hardik Pandya was the top-scoring batsman for India in the ODI series, scoring 210 runs in three innings at an average of 105. Though India lost the 50-over contest, Hardik’s performances drew the attention of many. In the T20Is, he scored 78 runs in three innings at an average of 39. His strike-rate of 156.00 helped India chase down targets when odds stood against the team.
India were without the services of Rohit Sharma the entire white-ball series while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were rested in multiple matches. While Rohit and Bumrah were the big misses, Hardik truly stepped up and delivered with the bat for India. India head coach Ravi Shastri is full of praise for the junior Pandya.
“Winning the T20s without Rohit and Bumrah was a huge achievement. What’s essentially working beautifully for this team is players standing up to these responsibilities. In that, Hardik has been a natural. His game awareness is second to none. He’s one of the cleanest strikers of the ball I’ve seen in the game,” Shastri was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
With the tour now fast-tracking to the Test series, India will be without the services of Hardik as he is only deemed good enough for a spot in the team for the traditional format of the game as an all-rounder. Since the 27-year-old putting bowling at a halt because of issues with his back, white-ball cricket is all that the management deems feasible at the moment.
Shastri also spoke about the decision to rest Bumrah and Shami in the limited-overs assignments. The India head coach highlighted how the two were used extensively by their respective Indian Premier League franchises and had to be given a break before the 5-day cricket begins.
“That was a total of 64 overs”, said Shastri in reference to the extent to which Bumrah was used by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020. “The maximum any Indian bowled, before we arrived here,” he said. Shami, on the other hand, also bowled 56 overs in the tournament for Kings XI Punjab.
