Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has come under scrutiny again, this time by former cricketer Irfan Pathan, who has urged the BCCI to re-evaluate Pandya’s treatment. Pathan stressed that Pandya’s performance for India of late has not been up to expectations and flagged concerns over his performances. This criticism highlights the ongoing debates over Pandya’s role in the team and raises questions about the consistency of his performances at international level, as expressed by Pathan.
Hardik Pandya’s Injury:
Hardik Pandya’s absence from the Indian team since the 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh was primarily due to an ankle injury that kept him out of the following series against Australia and the South Africa tour. Although Pandya regained fitness in January, he revealed that lack of playing opportunities delayed his return.
He finally made a competitive comeback during the DY Patil tournament before captaining Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Pandya’s journey back into cricket has been marked by challenges and a focus on recovery, underlining the importance of his return to competition in both domestic and league cricket following his break from international matches due to injury.
Irfan Pathan’s thoughts on Hardik Pandya:
Irfan Pathan’s critical assessment suggests that Hardik Pandya’s impact was minimal, especially given that a World Cup win for India remains elusive. Pathan stresses that the board needs to assess Pandya’s contributions and their impact on the team’s success, especially in the context of major tournaments like the World Cup.
Irfan Pathan said: “What I think about Hardik Pandya is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him as much priority as they have given him so far because we still haven’t won the World Cup. And if you think you’re a first-class all-rounder, you need to make such an impact at international level. As for the all-rounder, he hasn’t made such an impact at international level, we just think about the potential. We confuse the IPL performances with the international performances.
Injuries have significantly affected Hardik Pandya’s career and led to his unofficial retirement from Test cricket due to the physical demands in all formats. Since returning from injury in early 2022, Pandya has focused on bowling at full capacity, often reaching speeds in the late 130s to 140s, making him the team’s sixth bowling option. He captained India in T20Is for over a year after the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Pathan stresses the importance of Hardik Pandya dedicating himself fully to his team commitments without selectively participating in series and tournaments. Ahead of the IPL, reports suggested that Pandya’s central contract was in jeopardy until he confirmed his availability for domestic tournaments outside the Indian cricket schedule. Pathan emphasizes the need for a diverse team and draws parallels to Australia’s successful approach, which is built on collective effort rather than reliance on individual players.
He continued: “First of all, he has to play all year round. He can’t choose. Indian cricket must stop this. Stop favoring individuals, if you do that you won’t win big tournaments.” What Australia has been doing for many years is that they make everyone a superstar. If you don’t do that, you won’t win big tournaments.”
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