Hardik Pandya is a vital cog for India in white-ball formats.
Team India is relishing Hardik Pandya's return to full strength, as the Indian all-rounder continues to work hard and succeed in his role with both bat and ball.
The fact that Pandya only plays white-ball formats for India helps, but this is the closest the world has gotten to seeing the Pandya of old—bowling frequently for India.
After having back surgery after the 2019 World Cup, Pandya did not begin to roll his arms frequently until IPL 2022. However, until last year, Pandya was reluctant about bowling routinely on a match-by-match basis.
Putting those concerns to rest, Hardik Pandya is more open to bowling his full quota of 4 overs for India in T20Is and has even opened the bowling. Bowling the entire 10 overs in ODIs may still take time, but former India pacer Zaheer Khan is overjoyed to see Pandya enjoying his bowling more than ever.
"That's what we've been saying… that if Hardik the bowler comes to the party, then the whole balance of the side changes. Over time, he has been a reluctant bowler, hasn't he?
He's been fighting his own battles—injuries, back issues—forcing him to be apprehensive about looking at a bigger role with the ball. But slowly and surely, he's understood over a period of time that it's very important for him to take up that responsibility for the team. And that's very important," Zaheer said on Cricbuzz.
Zaheer's 'apprehensive' take stemmed from the uncertainty surrounding Pandya. It took a long time for Hardik Pandya to return from the ankle injury that he suffered during the 2023 World Cup. Then his personal life unraveled, leading to his divorce from his wife Natasa Stankovic.
He controversially replaced the popular Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain in IPL 2024, and MI fans turned on Pandya, booing him even at the Wankhede Stadium. MI finishing 10th in the tournament didn’t help Pandya as well.
However, Pandya rose from adversities as he played a crucial role in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win, where he was the vice-captain of the side. He continued the same form for Baroda in the domestic T20 tournament.
"The numbers are backing that and I'm sure that with time, he's also realized the importance of Hardik the bowler. And it clearly shows now when he's preparing for a series. He is not looking at it in a negative way. That's a great sign. You look at them having 3 spinners, or 4 spinners, in the side. They know and trust Hardik enough to do the job," added Zaheer.
Hardik Pandya is a crucial part of the Indian white-ball setup for now, with an eye on the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.