Former Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has backed Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya despite his poor show with the bat against Sri Lanka. Muralitharan said had he been the captain, Hardik would have definitely made it to his XI.
Hardik wasn’t in good form during the recently concluded One-Day International series against Sri Lanka. He managed just 19 runs in three games and didn’t hit a single six.
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Muralitharan backs Hardik and said he may not be 100 per cent yet with the ball since he just resumed bowling in international cricket after his surgery, but he is an asset with both bat and ball.
“Hardik Pandya is a special player. If I was captain, I would have him in any team in the world – an IPL team, Australian team… any team in the world. Because he has got the ability to bowl at 140 clicks and he can adjust and also bowl slower. Because of the injury, I feel he couldn’t do much,” Muralitharan said on ESPNCricinfo.
“Secondly, his batting is also special. We can’t accept him to play like Nitish Rana, or Suryakumar Yadav… stay long and get runs. He is a short-period batsman who would bamboozle you with a 40-ball hundred. That’s the expectation I would have from him.”
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The spin wizard called to not bat Hardik in top order and ask him to bat through. Instead, he should bat lower in the order and provide his team good finish in death overs.
“He might get out in the first two overs but if he clicks for 20-30 balls, he would score 50 runs. So that is the expectation from Hardik Pandya. If you make him play 70 balls and expect 90 runs, he would not be the same player,” Muralitharan added.
“It’s like asking Jayasuriya to open and score at run a ball. He won’t be successful. These players can play No. 7 and 8 anytime. Put him in and let him play his own game.”
Hardik’s poor show with the bat continued as he failed to play big shots during the first T20I. He faced 12 balls and scored just 10 runs without hitting a single boundary.
