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If Fit To Bowl, Pandya Can Give Big Boost To India In T20 World Cup, Believes Saba Karim
By Aditya Pratap - Jul 13, 2021 6:58 pm
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Former cricketer Saba Karim believes Hardik Pandya will be very important for Team India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 and if he resumes bowling it will be a big boost for the team. The T20 extravaganza will be taking place from October to November this year in the UAE and Oman.

hardik pandya
Hardik Pandya is a match-winner in T20 cricket

Pandya is also eager to bowl for India in all matches during the T20 World Cup but Saba Karim feels Team India needs to manage his workload from now on in order to keep him fit for the tournament.

Also Read: Hardik Pandya can play as a pure batsman, believes Sanjay Manjrekar

The all-rounder had a back surgery in late 2020 which has forced him not to bowl since then. However, he partially bowled against England in the limited-over series this year but didn’t bowl a single over in the IPL 2021.

“The Sri Lanka tour will be challenging for Hardik Pandya as a batsman because he was struggling on the slow Chennai pitches during the IPL. He will get similar wickets in Sri Lanka, so whether he can score runs at a good strike rate in such challenging conditions in white-ball cricket,” Saba Karim told India News.

Karim also feels India’s chances of winning their second T20 world title will increase if they manage his workload so that he can bowl in the tournament.

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav informs Hardik Pandya has started bowling in nets

“The biggest thing is that India’s chances in the T20 World Cup will get doubled if Hardik Pandya is fit. If he can both bowl and bat throughout the tournament, I feel India’s chances are extremely bright.

Saba Karim
Saba Karim

“Secondly, it is dependent on the Indian team management, both the one in England and the one in Sri Lanka currently, on how he is treated from here till the World Cup, how his workload is managed as he will regain his strength slowly,” Karim added.

India will play three ODIs and three T20Is against Sri Lanka, starting from July 18.