Hardik Pandya has rubbished speculation that he was dropped from the Indian cricket team after his underwhelming show in the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai. The 28-year-old flamboyant all-rounder who led the debutants Gujarat Titans (GT) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in their maiden campaign in the elite T20 event, has not played for the Indian cricket team since November.
However, Hardik Pandya made it clear that he was on a break since then and the Indian selectors had not left him out of the Rohit Sharma-led side.
Hardik Pandya was in the form of his life in the IPL, having scored 487 runs in 15 games to emerge the Ahmedabad-based franchise's top scorer and was the key behind GT's remarkable run in the competition.
Pandya junior's bowling also made a comeback in the IPL and had an immediate effect on the fortunes of the Gujarat-based outfit as he picked 8 crucial wickets, including a match-winning 3/7 in the final against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Hardik Pandya now wants to replicate his IPL success in India's blue jersey and he's extremely excited to make a return to the Rahul Dravid-coached outfit.
Hardik Pandya's first assignment in national colours will be the upcoming T20I series against South Africa which starts in Delhi with a day-night game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium this Thursday – a challenge he was relishing to take.
“The old Hardik will be back. Now the fans are back, it's time for me to make comeback. A lot of matches are going to be played and I'm looking forward to it. What I did for my franchise, I will also make sure that I can also do the same for my country,” he said in a video posted on Gujarat Titans' Twitter handle.
Taking a dig at his detractors who had assumed that his career was over after Hardik Pandya suffered a career threatening back injury which required surgery a few years ago, Pandya stressed that he was very much a part of Team India and he only took some time away from the sport to rejuvenate himself.
“Lot of people don't know that I took off; It was my decision. A lot of misconception is that I was dropped. You get dropped when you are available. Thankful to the BCCI as they allowed me to take long breaks and did not even force me to come back,” he added.
Hardik Pandya is a vital cog in Team India's scheme of things, particularly in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and T20Is as his fast bowling has the potential to tilt the balance in India's favour against top-quality opposition like Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa.
Before the IPL, Hardik Pandya had stopped bowling after his doctors asked him not to risk another injury to his troublesome back. But a four-month break seems to have done a world of good to him.
In the IPL, the Surat-born cricket star was not only seen delivering regular spells with the ball but opened the bowling for Gujarat as well.
Like his batting, Hardik Pandya was equally impressive with his bowling and it was his this side of the game, which won Gujarat Titans the IPL title.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether KL Rahul who will lead the Indian team in the absence of regular skipper Rohit who has been rested for the series, will employ Hardik Pandya at the start of the innings against South Africa or not.
As India has two high-quality new-ball bowlers in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Srinagar-born Umran Malik who could make his debut in the series, Rahul may decide against opting for Pandya.
Bhuvi is an old-war horse in the Indian bowling line-up. Hence, KL Rahul may not tinker much with his position.
On the other hand, Malik was the find of IPL and impressed a lot of former greats with his ability to hit the 150 kmph mark with remarkable consistency.
Umran Malik has a wide array of balls in his armory, including a dangerous yorker that can test even the best in the business, and with the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in Australia later this year, KL will be tempted to see how he performs at the international stage.
This would mean that Hardik Pandya would in all likelihood come as the first change as and when India will be bowling.
But this shouldn't be a problem for him because he bowls wicket-to-wicket most of the time and it is hard to get him away.
All in all, Hardik Pandya's return is a welcome boost to the Indian cricket team, something every fan is looking forward to.
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