Former India player turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has said that all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has not been bowling that much due to his lower back injury, has the ability to play in the playing XI as a “pure batsman”. He is currently in Sri Lanka with the second-string Indian team for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.
The team will be led by Shikhar Dhawan. And the eyes will be on Hardik Pandya during the series as this is the last chance for many to be on the verge of selection in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Meanwhile, Pandya’s contribution to the team will be important, felt Sanjay Manjrekar.
“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,” Manjrekar said during a virtual interaction. “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.”
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“The T20 World Cup squad is almost finalised. 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 pencilled in,” he again shared.
Meanwhile, former India batsman Ajay Jadeja, who was also featured in the interaction, backed young batsman Devdutt Padikkal to open the innings against Sri Lanka.
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“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. 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,” said Jadeja.
