Hardik Pandya played a key role with the bat in India’s 15-run win over England in the penultimate game of the five-T20I series at the MCA Stadium, Pune on Friday (January 31).
Opting to bowl first, the hosts were left reeling at 12/3, with Sanju Samson (1), Tilak Varma (0) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) being dismissed cheaply.
Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh also failed to make a mark as India slumped to 79/5 before the 11th over. But Hardik and Shivam Dube stitched together partnership of 87 runs with twin 53-run knocks off 30 and 34 balls respectively to propel India to a good score of 181/9.
Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif reckons there is no one in the country like Hardik Pandya, and hailed the all-rounder as the "backbone" of the Indian team.
Kaif also feels Hardik must be sad after not being handed the Indian T20I captaincy since he has a good record as a leader in the IPL.
"People were after Hardik Pandya's life during IPL 2024. He faced a lot of brickbats; fans booed him at the Wankhede Stadium. He never spoke about his pain. He is the same player who bowled the final over of the T20 World Cup final to hand India the trophy. He cried his heart out after making India win. He never showed his emotions during the IPL when Mumbai Indians weren't performing well," Kaif said in a video posted on his X handle.
"He got injured in Pune during the 2023 ODI World Cup. You didn't get a replacement for him. No player could have replaced him. Mohammed Shami bowled well, but India had only 7 batters and 4 bowlers. There was no eighth batter. Hardik Pandya is the backbone of this team. When he is injured, there is no replacement to be found," he added.
Hardik Pandya was one of the front-runners to take over the leadership mantle after Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format.
However, when the squad for the current Sri Lanka tour was announced last July, Hardik was listed only as a player, with Suryakumar Yadav being handed the T20I captaincy.
Not only this, the deputy role was also taken away from Hardik. While Shubman Gill was named vice-captain on the tour of Sri Lanka, Axar Patel was recently named Surya’s deputy for the ongoing five-T20I series against England at home.
According to Kaif, Hardik never shows his emotions to the world but he must be hurting after not being given the Indian team's captaincy.
"He scores runs when the team needs it. He takes the wickets when the teams needs it. Hardik Pandya played cameos in every match of the T20 World Cup. He is not the captain right now. Do you think he doesn't feel bad? Isn't he human, and doesn't he feel anything? He is not even the vice-captain of this Indian team," Kaif stated.
"He is the captain of Mumbai Indians. He won the IPL with Gujarat Titans and then reached the final. But he isn't the captain of the Indian team. Suryakumar Yadav is the captain. Hardik is doing his role to the best of his ability. Hardik Pandya always gives his best. You cannot find anyone with his skill set when he gets injured. I think you don't have a player like Hardik Pandya. In the population of 1.4 billion, there is only one genuine all-rounder, and that is Hardik Pandya," he further remarked.
