Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said that the lack of consistent game time could be the reason for Hardik Pandya’s poor form in IPL 2024 as well. Having already been away from Test cricket since 2018, Hardik has dealt with fitness issues regularly. He also suffered an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup and missed five months of action before returning ahead of the IPL 2024 as well. But he had a poor season as Mumbai Indians’ new skipper, averaging only 18 with the bat and over 35 with the ball in 14 outings as well.
In an interview with RevSportz ahead of the T20 World Cup, Ganguly said, “Hardik is different because he doesn’t play that much cricket, and that’s a worry. I want him to consistently play cricket, for only then can he hit a rich vein of form. I would want him to do so, and it can only happen if he plays a lot more cricket,” said Ganguly.
Further, Ganguly dismissed worries about Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s poor IPL form heading into the World Cup. After a good start to the IPL season, Rohit failed to do well in the second half of the tournament to finish with 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and a strike rate of 150 in 14 games.
“No, I am not worried. Rohit is a great of the game, and if you see what he did in the 50-over World Cup, I am confident he will do that again. At this level, form is about a couple of games when you have that kind of quality. So, I am not worried about Rohit. He has scored runs across the world, and has played a lot of cricket and will surely do the job expected of him,” shared Ganguly.
However, Sourav Ganguly felt the mediocre form of India’s pacers other than Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t much of a worry as the nature of pitches in the IPL and the T20 World Cup are different. Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj are the other pace-bowling options they have along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“I am not really worried. Again, you have to take into account the nature of pitches in the IPL, the ground dimensions and the conditions on offer for the fast bowlers. The World Cup will be very different, and the conditions in the West Indies will not be anywhere near the IPL. Our bowlers shouldn’t have an issue in the World Cup is my assumption,” concluded Sourav Ganguly.
