Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has reacted to the debate that whether Hardik Pandya is still a valuable asset for Team India if he is not able to bowl, as he was quoted as saying that the all-rounder is perfectly capable of playing in the team as a pure batsman in white-ball cricket.
The 27-year-old has not been bowling regularly due to a lower back injury and it raised questions on his place in the Indian cricket team and he was even left out of the national squad for the upcoming Test series in England. However, the pacer has now started bowling ahead of the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka and Manjrekar said it’s a great positive for India and the cricketer as well.
Although, even if Pandya can’t be used with the ball, but he has still the capability to feature in the playing XI as a “pure batsman” in white-ball cricket, said the commentator.
Manjrekar said during a virtual interaction: “Hardik proved himself in Australia that he is perfectly capable of playing in the team as a pure batter, there is no doubt now that he can do that.”
He added, “I am also reading reports that he has started bowling as well. His bowling, all the more-better for India. He has shown that he has the ability to walk into the team as a pure batter in white-ball cricket.”
The cricket analyst also believes that India’s squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is almost finalized and it would be one of the strongest the country has ever put up in the format.
Manjrekar further noted, “The T20 World Cup squad is almost finalized. India’s T20 cricket is in a very healthy space, so it is not like the 2019 World Cup, where till the end we didn’t find our number four. This T20 team, that India will put up, will be one of the strongest India has ever put up in a T20 format, so I think most of the players are already penciled in.”
Meanwhile, former India batsman Ajay Jadeja backed Devdutt Padikkal to open for India in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Jadeja said during the interaction, “I love Devdutt Padikkal, he is the future, but you have got Prithvi Shaw as well. It all depends on the guys who are running the side at that particular moment.”
He signed off by saying, “I don’t think it is a choice that Shikhar Dhawan would be making, it will be a choice that the selectors make and of course Rahul Dravid. It will show us what Indian cricket is thinking. It is a tough call between all these guys. I would have gone with Padikkal, he is very special.”
(With India Today inputs)
