Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar lavished praises on all-rounder Hardik Pandya, calling him an "extremely versatile player". The 28-year-old recently made his way back to the Indian squad after a gap of seven months and is currently playing in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa.
Hardik Pandya made a fantastic comeback to competitive cricket in the recently-concluded season of IPL 2022 for the Gujarat Titans, where he put up a good performance both with the bat and the ball. He also ended up leading his team to their maiden IPL title in their debut season of the world's biggest franchise cricket league.
Based on his stellar performance for the Ahmedabad-based franchise, he was rewarded with a India call-up for the first time since the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Sanjay Bangar spoke highly of Hardik's versatility as a batter. He said that he felt the Baroda-player can bat at No.4 for India and can take up the job of finishing games for the team.
"He is an extremely versatile player who has worked very well on his game's foundation. You can play him at No. 4 also and at No. 6 as well. Whenever I used to talk to Hardik, he used to always say that he wants to have a good foundation, he always paid a lot of attention to that. That is a transformation. When your game is sorted out, you can mold your game according to every situation," Bangar said on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues'.
The former India cricketer also hailed Hardik's hitting capacity and his ability to finish games, a quality that he has picked up from former India skipper MS Dhoni, while being involved in a number of important partnerships with him.
"He (Hardik) is a player who has played the finisher's role for a very long time for the Indian team. He has shared experiences and built partnerships with MS Dhoni and other lower-order batters. So I feel he is a versatile player," he said.
(Star Sports inputs)
