India’s plans pivot on Hardik bowling
NEW DELHI: On September 8—the day India’s T20 World Cup squad was announced— chief selector Chetan Sharma made an assertion regarding Hardik Pandya’s bowling fitness. “The selectors have decided to have Hardik as the fourth (seam) bowler. He will bowl his full quota of overs for India in the T20 World Cup,” the 55-year-old former India pacer told reporters during a virtual media interaction.
It’s been well over a month since, but we are yet to see Pandya strain his repaired back and deliver a single ball in anger. Through that time, the flamboyant all-rounder has played five IPL matches for Mumbai Indians and Monday’s warm-up game against England. India, the tournament hosts, have Wednesday’s second warm-up against Australia before their campaign in the global T20 extravaganza starts against Pakistan.
Persistent issues with his back have meant Pandya has been employed solely as a batsman. However, he has seldom spent enough time at the crease to make an impact. His only innings of note since IPL resumed has been an unbeaten 40 in a mundane, low-scoring chase against Punjab Kings.
While his not bowling during IPL could have been explained away as a case of Mumbai Indians treading cautiously with the larger picture in mind, not bowling even against England in Dubai does not bode well with India’s first game four days away. Going by what MI skipper Rohit Sharma said at the conclusion of IPL, the 28-year-old’s ability to send down a few overs remains a work in progress.
“The physios, the trainers, the medical team are working on him (Pandya),” Sharma had said after Mumbai’s final game
against Sunrisers Hyderabad. “As of now, all I know is he hasn’t bowled a single ball yet. He is getting better day by day. In the next week or so, he might be able to bowl. Who knows? I mean only the doctors or the physios will be able to give an update on that.”
The selectors themselves seem to have revised their assessment of Pandya’s fitness. When it was time to finalise their squad before the October 16 deadline, they added another seam bowling all-rounder in Shardul Thakur by dropping left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who had done perfectly well for Delhi Capitals, into the reserves.
With India beginning their campaign with a high-octane clash against Pakistan, it is still unclear whether Pandya can chip in with a few overs. If he isn’t able to do so, the question about the logic of playing Pandya just as a batsman, albeit a dashing one capable of turning the match in the blink of an eye, arises.
Assuming that Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli occupy the top three slots with Rishabh Pant at No. 5 and Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, there is likely to be a jostle between Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Pandya for the remaining two spots. Pandya’s unbridled aggression and ability to win games off his bat—he did that in Australia last year— makes him irresistible at times. The team management though will have to take a calculative call depending on what they want from their middle-order— Pandya’s explosive approach or a level of dependability from Ishan and Suryakumar.
The team selection for India’s first warm-up game against England did not reveal much, given that all three played with vice-captain Sharma rested. While the team management must have deliberated on this, we may know for certain which way they will go only when Kohli and Babar Azam go for the toss in Dubai on October 24.