Legendary Sunil Gavaskar backed Hardik Pandya to be a different player with a more positive mindset at the T20 World Cup, rubbishing concerns over his selection in the 15-man squad. The BCCI picked Hardik Pandya as Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the T20 World Cup side despite not having been in the best of forms in IPL 2024.
Speaking to India Today on Tuesday after the T20 World Cup squad was announced, Sunil Gavaskar acknowledged that it has been difficult for Hardik Pandya to perform at his best due to the negativity surrounding his elevation as MI captain. The legendary opener said Hardik will be a different man with extra energy when he represents the senior national team in the T20 World Cup, starting June 1 in the USA and the West Indies.
“There’s a big difference between playing for your country and playing in the IPL. Playing for your country just brings out a different energy in every player and Hardik will be a different player. He has had to face a lot of issues in this tournament,” Gavaskar said.
“He has handled it quite well. So, when he goes overseas and plays for India, he will be in a completely different frame of mind. And that’s going to be a much more positive frame of mind than what we have seen in this tournament. So Hardik will make good contributions with both bat and ball in the World Cup,” he added.
Hardik Pandya has been under the pump amid MI’s derailed IPL 2024 campaign. After returning from a long injury lay-off, Hardik took over the captaincy of MI in a surprise move from the 5-time champions. A section of fans did not like Hardik replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain of MI and they made sure Hardik was booed at most of the venues in the IPL 2024 season. Hardik was even booed at the Wankhede Stadium, the home ground of MI.
Hardik has been poor with both bat and ball. The all-rounder, who was dismissed for a golden duck against LSG, Hardik has hit just 197 runs in 10 matches and picked 4 wickets, but Gavaskar is confident the returns would be better in a month’s time when he plays for India.
GAVASKAR’S XI FOR T20 WORLD CUP
Gavaskar also named Hardik in the starting XI, saying that the MI captain adds flexibility to the bowling plans of India.
“I would have left-right combination that opened in the Test matches – Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Kohli, at No. 3. Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4. Rishabh Pant at No. 5. Hardik Pandya at No. 6, Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, No. 8 is Kuldeep Yadav, No. 9 is Jasprit Bumrah and No. 10. Arshdeep Singh, No. 11 – open at the moment. I will fill that slot based on what conditions are on offer,” Gavaskar said.
INDIA’s T20 WORLD CUP SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashashvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav. Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rimku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan
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