Published: Apr 17, 2020, 01:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 17, 2020, 01:49 PM (IST)
Lauding Hardik Pandya‘s match-winning abilities, Harbhajan Singh has backed the allrounder to be an automatic choice in India’s squad whenever international cricket resumes. Harbhajan, who has shared the Mumbai Indians dressing room for three seasons from 2015 to 2017, feels Pandya’s skillset bring a balance to the side, because of which the allrounder cannot be left out of team unless injured.
“Hardik Pandya has not played ODI after the World Cup. But I can give you in writing that if he is fit and irrespective of whether the IPL takes place or not, when the team will be made he will be in the team because if the team needs to maintain combination, he has to be in the team,” Harbhajan told IANS.
Post World Cup, Pandya did play two T20Is against South Africa before injuring his lower back in September, which has kept him out of action ever since. He underwent surgery in London and proceeded to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehab. He was set to tour New Zealand as part of India A squad in January earlier this year and expected to be named in the men’s senior team, but was ruled out at the last minute for not recovering entirely on time.
After another intense rehab, Hardik was fit and named in India’s three ODI series against South Africa in February, which was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic after the first game was washed out. In between, he participated in the DY Patil tournament and showed sparking form by scoring a belligerent unbeaten 158 off just 55 balls Reliance 1 against BPCL. It came days after he had already hit a sensational 105 off 39 balls.
For MS Dhoni, the IPL could have been a platform to return to India’s ODI and T20I teams, but Harbhajan reckons a player like Pandya does not need the validation of a good IPL season to make it to India’s Playing XI. “You need these kind of players. So some players cannot be judged on IPL form. It is for them who are not proven players,” he said.
