India cricket great Sunil Gavaskar has come up with a possible replacement for Hardik Pandya if he isn't playing as an all-rounder. Hardik hasn't been bowling lately and Team India played him as a specialist batter against Pakistan.
Gavaskar suggested two changes in the Indian team after defeating in their first match of T20 World Cup 2021 against Pakistan. However, he added that the team shouldn't make too many changes in the playing eleven which would give an impression that they are panicking.
“If Hardik Pandya is not bowling – due to that shoulder injury he sustained in the match against Pakistan – Ishan Kishan has been in brilliant form so I will surely consider him ahead of Pandya. And perhaps, you can think of Shardul Thakur in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But otherwise, if you make too many changes, then you will show the opposition that you have panicked,” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
India will play New Zealand in their next Super 12 match. Both the teams have lost their first match and the winner will boost its chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Gavaskar added that the team should back their players and look forward to winning the remaining matches after a tough defeat in their last game. “Having said that. If you make changes, it will show that the team has panicked. There is no need to panic because they have a good team.
"Yes, you’ve lost a match to a good team but that doesn’t mean that going forward, India won’t win the match or win the tournament. If you win the next four matches, you can make it to the semi-final and from there, possibly even the final. So, there is no need to make changes,” he said.
(With Sports Tak Inputs)
