Sunil Gavaskar says Hardik Pandya will do well at the T20 World Cup. Hardik Pandya plays cricket for India. He has not played his best lately. Gavaskar thinks Pandya will get his form back. The World Cup is in West Indies and USA.
Hardik Pandya is 30 years old. He has a tough time in all parts of the game as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain in the IPL this year. Hardik bats under 22 on average with no half-centuries in 10 games.
His bowling figures haven’t improved much, with six wickets at an average of 42 and an economy of 11. MI’s troubles as a team under him have harmed his reputation even more, with the club winning only three of ten games to finish in last place.
Nonetheless, Hardik was named vice-captain of India’s 15-member squad for the main event.
Sunil Gavaskar recently spoke on Sports Today after the squad declaration. He talked about how the all-rounder plays different between IPL and international cricket.
“There’s a big difference playing in the IPL and playing for your country. Playing for your country brings out something different in every player and Hardik Pandya will be a different player. He’s had to face a lot of issues in this particular tournament (IPL), he’s handled it quite well. When he goes overseas and has to play for India, I think he will be in a completely different frame of mind.”
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar added:
“And that’s going to be a much more positive frame of mind than maybe what we have seen here in this tournament. So, Hardik Pandya will make a contribution with both bat and ball in this tournament.”
Sunil Gavaskar
Hardik has struggled to deal with the overwhelming criticism from MI supporters after taking over as captain from Rohit Sharma during the off-season.
In Rohit’s absence, the talismanic all-rounder guided India to many T20I victories last year.
“They are title contenders, without a question” – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar felt that the India team would be a top team at the big T20 World Cup event. He was glad to see the many types of bowlers India has and the powerful batters in the squad.
Rohit Sharma is the captain of the India team. The players in blue want to win a big ICC trophy soon. India has not won a big trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy many years ago.
“I don’t know the reason but this Indian team looks a very good team, no question about it. Its got plenty of experience, they’ve got some real big hitters, they’ve got variety in bowling as well. They are title contenders, without a question. At the international level, sometimes you need a bit of luck and if this Indian team has just that little bit of luck, then I’m very confident that after 2007 (triumph), the T20 World Cup will come back to India.”
Sunil Gavaskar
India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, but has only reached one final in the seven subsequent editions.
They’ll start their campaign against Ireland in New York on June 5.