Team India have high hopes from Hardik and Jadeja going into the ODI World Cup at home.
His performance with both bat and ball earned him the Player-of-the-Tournament award in the 2011 World Cup. The southpaw amassed 362 runs in eight innings and claimed 15 wickets during the quadrennial event as India defeated Sri Lanka in the final to lift the coveted trophy after 28 years.
With the fast-approaching ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Yuvraj Singh’s legendary exploits in big events have become a topic of discussion once again.
As the India versus Pakistan Asia Cup Super-4 match came to a halt on Sunday (September 10) due to rain, former cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Waqar Younis had a debate about whether all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya can emulate Yuvraj’s heroics in the upcoming World Cup.
While Waqar expressed confidence in Hardik's abilities, Manjrekar shared a different point of view altogether.
"Look at what Hardik and Jadeja bring to the table. They are well equipped with both bat and ball. Especially Hardik Pandya – the way he batted against Pakistan – I think he is a really destructive batter at No. 6. Any team would love to have someone like him. He is aggressive, and now as we saw in the previous match, he is very sensible and smart," Waqar said during the discussion on Star Sports.
"He played like a champion. He took his time and when the time was right, he pushed his natural game. I feel that these 2 at No. 6 and 7 will give India that push. All they want to do is not lose early wickets. If you give these 2 last 10 overs, they can chase the game pretty quickly," he added.
On the other hand, Manjrekar said: "Yuvraj is arguably India's best white-ball batter. He could win games and was in a different league. Hardik and Jadeja, with due respect, aren't quite there. These 2 are far better bowlers than Yuvraj Singh but because that one discipline was so…"
Waqar then interrupted Manjrekar and asked, "Not even Hardik Pandya? With the kind of batting that he has shown? I am not comparing them but the intention is there."
In reply, Manjrekar mentioned there is no guarantee that Hardik will complete his quota of 10 overs while bowling.
"He has the potential but when I see him at this stage, it's not a guarantee that he will come and bowl all 10 overs like one of the mainstream bowlers. I see him as more of a batting all-rounder and he batted really well in the last game. So yes, they have this combined skill to make the kind of contribution made but one discipline of Yuvraj Singh, like I said, was at a different level. In pitches that help Jadeja the bowler, his batting will come through but Hardik the batter doesn't need a bad ball or loose ball to decide that this needs to go," he remarked.
India will open their ODI World Cup campaign against five-time champions Australia at Chepauk on October 8.