Sanjay Manjrekar has applauded Hardik Pandya for bouncing back after having a poor campaign for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024. The all-rounder smashed an unbeaten 40 off 23 balls in India’s 60-run win in their 2024 T20 World Cup warm-up game against Bangladesh. However, India set the 183-run target after Rohit Sharma opted to bat first in New York on Saturday, June 1 and then restricted them to 122/9 to register an easy win as well.

Reviewing the game on Star Sports, Manjrekar said, “I have been repeatedly saying, even before this match, if you see Hardik Pandya’s performances in World Cups, he played the all-rounder’s role very well in the 2019 World Cup, he had a main performance in the India-Pakistan match on the big stage, and see his performance with the bat in the semi-final India lost in Adelaide, he scored 60 runs at a strike rate of 190.”

“What happened in the IPL was a slight temperamental issue because he was feeling the pressure from outside. The environment might not have been good. I am not at all surprised that he will feel slightly relaxed and relieved after donning India’s and not the Mumbai Indians’ blues. He has the ability and I am repeatedly saying that he is a big-match player,” the former India batter further added.

However, MI finished last in IPL 2024 under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. He scored 216 runs at an average of 18.00 in 13 innings in the recently concluded IPL 2024. Sanjay Bangar, however, said that Hardik Pandya is a big-match player and he provides the balance to the side.

“You shouldn’t see what he has done earlier when he is playing for India. You should definitely see what he has done for India. His record in World Cup cricket is exceptional. Whether he is playing Test cricket, 50-over or 20-over format for India, he has given fantastic performances in all three formats. There was a phase in the middle for sure where he got injured and because of that he couldn’t play much, but whenever he comes, the Indian team’s balance becomes much better,” Bangar said.