Sunil Gavaskar expects Hardik Pandya to overcome his IPL struggles and perform well for India at the T20 World Cup.
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes Hardik Pandya will be a “different player” in national colours despite his underwhelming performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Pandya has been under scrutiny for his lacklustre showing with the Mumbai Indians (MI), scoring only 197 runs and taking just four wickets in ten matches. His team currently sits in ninth place on the IPL points table.
However, Gavaskar is confident that Pandya will bounce back when he joins the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup. “There’s a big difference between playing in the IPL and playing for your country. Playing for your country brings out something different in every player, and Hardik Pandya will be a different player,” Gavaskar said on Sports Today.
He acknowledged the challenges Pandya has faced this IPL season but believes he will have a renewed mindset when representing India. “He’s had to face a lot of issues in this particular tournament (the IPL), he’s handled it quite well. When he goes overseas and has to play for India, I think he will be in a completely different frame of mind,” Gavaskar remarked.
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“And that’s going to be a much more positive frame of mind than maybe what we have seen here in this tournament. So, Hardik Pandya will make a contribution with both bat and ball in this tournament,” he added, highlighting a much more impactful Pandya for the T20 World Cup.
Pandya’s recent appointment as vice-captain of the 15-member T20 World Cup squad further underscores the team’s faith in his abilities. The MI skipper, notably, boasts an impressive T20 career with 158 wickets in 254 matches and 4622 runs in the bag.
Last Updated on May 1, 2024
