Hardik Pandya Took A Subtle Dig At Selectors After The First ODI: The Men in Blue fell to a 66-run defeat by the hands of Australia in the 1st ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After the defeat, the skipper of team India, Virat Kohli admitted that team India lacked options in the bowling department. He also claimed that the team management will think about where they can get a few overs from.
With Hardik Pandya playing as a specialist batsman at No. 6, team India was playing with only 5 bowlers.
After the loss, Hardik Pandya addressed team India’s need for another all-rounder in the team and also claimed that he doesn’t want to risk injury by rushing back before being fully healthy. When he was asked about India’s second all-rounder, Hardik suggested that his brother Krunal Pandya could be India’s answer second all-rounder woes. He said:
“Maybe we should look in the Pandya family only. There is one sitting at home,”
Furthermore, Hardik Pandya admitted that having only five bowlers in the team puts a lot of pressure on the team as it is almost impossible to recover if someone gets injured or is having an off-day. He said:
“Yeah, it is always going to be difficult when you go with five bowlers. When someone is having an off day you don’t have someone to fulfill [the quota]. More than injury, the sixth bowler’s role is when someone from the five bowlers is having a bad day, they come and fill those overs so the other guy gets more cushion,”
He added:
“I think it is going to be… maybe we will have to make, maybe we will have to find someone who has already played India, and groom them and find a way to make them play,”
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami and to some extent Ravindra Jadeja. turned out to be the only bowlers who picked wickets in the first ODI against Australia. While, on the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, and Yuzvendra Chahal were all smashed brutally by the Australian batsmen, who finished on a whopping 374/6.
For the second ODI match, team India might look to make changes in their playing XI for the next game, however, with no all-rounder on the bench, they might have no other choice than to try part-timers like the skipper Kohli.
