Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that Team India should not risk Hardik Pandya in ODIs until the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year. He said that Hardik Pandya should only be playing T20 cricket for the next few months.
India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya recently made a comeback to the Indian cricket team setup for the upcoming 5-match T20I series against South Africa, all thanks to his heroics in the recently-concluded 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Hardik Pandya Made A Stellar Comeback In IPL 2022
Hardik Pandya, who was leading the side for the first time, impressed everyone with his captaincy skills as he led his side Gujarat Titans (GT) to glory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Hardik Pandya made a comeback on-field after a long time and put on a stellar all-around show to silence his critics.
Hardik was the fourth-highest run-getter in the just-concluded season, scoring 487 runs with the bat in 15 matches. Apart from this, he also picked up eight wickets in the tournament, with his best performance with the ball coming in the final match against Rajasthan Royals, where he picked three crucial wickets and conceded only 17 runs in his four-over spell first. He also scored crucial 34 runs as well to help his side win their maiden title.
Ravi Shastri On Hardik Pandya
Meanwhile, the former Indian head coach has given his take on Hardik’s comeback to the Indian side. He said that Pandya should get enough rest before the marque event in Australia and his fitness needs to be taken care of. Shastri also said that Pandya has gained enough fitness to bowl a couple of overs in every game. He said:
“He will walk back into that squad for me either as a batter or as an all-rounder. I don’t think he is that badly injured where he cannot bowl you two overs. He has had ample rest and he will continue to have ample rest because that’s the only format he should play going into the World Cup. They shouldn’t take the risk of making him play ODI cricket,”
He added: “Massive, he does the job for two players. A Hardik Pandya playing just as a batter would mean he has to bat in the top four or five but Hardik Pandya playing as an all-rounder, he can bat at five, six or four and still bowl those two-three overs for you,”
