Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday (October 21) highlighted the importance of Hardik Pandya for the Indian team, saying that the all-rounder’s absence upsets the balance of the playing XI.
Notably, Hardik has been ruled out of India’s World Cup 2023 fixture against New Zealand in Dharamsala on October 22 due to an ankle injury he sustained in the last match versus Bangladesh.
“Hardik Panyda's absence upsets the balance of the team. What Pandya was bringing was his batting ability at number 6 as a finisher. With the way Indian top-order is batting, he was going to get about 8-10 overs to bat. But he was doing so well in those 10-12 overs, which is why his batting aspect will be missed,” said Gavaskar while speaking to India Today.
He went on to say that India will also miss Pandya’s services with the ball and in the field.
“But also the bowling aspect and not to forget his fielding ability. He also brings a certain energy in the field which we can see in the way he runs to the bowler or the captain to try and give his input,” Gavaskar added.
In the absence of Hardik Pandya, the 1983 World Cup winner would prefer to go with either Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan.
“I would look to pick either Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan in the team to strengthen the batting. India's problem has been losing early wickets against New Zealand's pacers which is why India needs depth in their batting order,” Gavaskar remarked.
India may have defeated Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh convincingly so far, but facing New Zealand will be a different ball game.
The Kiwis are also on a four-match winning streak. In fact, they have a better Net Run Rate than India and, thus, occupy the top spot on the points table featuring 10 teams.
Over the years, the Black Caps have proved to be a bogey for the Indian team in Cricket World Cup. In the 2019 edition, they ended India’s campaign in the semi-final. In total, India and New Zealand have faced each other in 9 matches in the World Cup, with the latter winning five times as opposed to India’s three while one match ended without a result.
