Hardik Pandya established himself as an effective bowling all-rounder ever since his emergence in the IPL. The Baroda-born cricketer has a knack of taking wickets with his medium pace and also the ability for hitting big, which is a handy combination especially in white-ball cricket.
The 30-year-old suffered an ankle injury midway through the ICC ODI World Cup in November last year. After being sidelined for four months, Pandya made his return onto the cricket pitch in IPL 2024.
It was swarmed in controversy, however, as Pandya switched teams, from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians. He returned to the Mumbai franchise as the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma who had led the team to five IPL titles.
However, Pandya has played a limited role as a bowler for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL 2024. With T20 World Cup looming over the skies, questions have been raised over his contribution to the Indian team as an all-rounder.
Cricket pundit Harsha Bhogle joined in the debate.
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What did Harsha Bhogle say on Hardik Pandya's inclusion for T20 WC?
Pandya has bowled in only three out of MI's five matches in IPL 2024 so far. The 30-year-old has only fulfilled 40% of the possible 20-over quota across five matches.
"If Hardik is not bowling, does Hardik make to the T20 World Cup squad?" Bhogle questioned on Cricbuzz.
"Is he among the top six batters in India if he is not bowling? I'm not totally convinced because if he is not bowling and not finishing as powerfully, he needs to bat up. And that's where all the competition is.
"So, for Hardik to be able to go to the T20 WC, he has to bowl four overs. I won't be surprised if, coming out of that back injury, he is feeling a little ginger."
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When does the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 start?
ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to commence on June 2, 2024. It will be the second ICC event in under a year, after the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, in last October-November.
The T20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States of America and Carribean Islands. India will kickstart their campaign on June 5, against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
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