India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been facing issues with his fitness in recent times. He has played against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) purely as a batsman and that has become a matter of debate once again on his inclusion in India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. as well.
And, reports are now suggesting that there’s a possibility of Hardik Pandya being replaced by others. However, many have stated that the all-rounder should not make it to the side purely based on his batting. And, Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond has also mentioned that Pandya needed some time to get back into full match fitness and so he was kept out of the first two IPL matches in the UAE.
“We’re obviously balancing the needs of our team and the needs of team India as well. It’s the one thing that this franchise does really well… is look after its players with an eye not only to win this competition but an eye to the World Cup that’s coming up as well,” Shane Bond had stated.
Ever since his back surgery, Hardik Pandya has become irregular in the squad and even if he plays, he can be seen with the ball very little. However, he missed matches most of the time and it has affected his performance a lot as well. Moreover, his absence has troubled the team also as they struggle to have a seam-bowling all-rounder who can be as destructive as him.
Since teams have the provision of changing their T20 World Cup squads up until October 10, there’s a possibility that if Hardik fails to become match fit or bowls four overs, the management is likely to include Shardul Thakur or Shreyas Iyer, according to the reports. Notably, both of them are included as reserve players and might get a chance to be in the team as well.
India’s T20 World Cup squad:
Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.
Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
