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The most famous ICC T20 World Cup 2022 cricket series starts from October 16 in Australia with a bang. In the series, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team, which will be winning the trophy after 15 years since 2007, suffered major setbacks with injuries to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja early and pacer Jasprit Bumrah late. However, the presence of Hardik Pandya in good form who can balance both the departments to make up for their absence is somewhat of a strength.
After making his debut in 2016 and performing in all 3 formats of the Indian team since 2018, he has made the fans happy that they have got a quality fast bowling all-rounder after the legendary Kapil Dev. But in the same year in the Asia Cup held in Dubai and after the 2019 World Cup, he was unable to bowl due to an injury and lost his form in batting. It resonated enough to pull India out of the 2021 T20 World Cup with the league round, and the BCCI promptly removed him.
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One of a generation:
However, he did not give up on that and for Gujarat, who trusted him and appointed him as the captain in the 2022 IPL series, he scored 487 runs and 8 runs and as the best all-rounder, he led all the players in the position of inexperienced captaincy and won the trophy in the first year. So the same selection committee that had removed him voluntarily chose him, and then he acted as the dark horse of India in recent victories, including the match against Pakistan in South Africa, Ireland, England, West Indies and Asia Cup.
In that sense, his return to form as the same old Pandya is seen as a huge strength for India. In this case, former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has praised Hardik Pandya as a talented player who is rarely found once in many years. They have been roughing up the opposing bowlers in the middle order for the past several years in the IPL series, and this year they parted ways as the best finishers and gave Mumbai a lot of wins.
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Here’s what he said in a YouTube show about Pandya’s return to form. “Hardik Pandya is on the rise. He had been going through very difficult times for the past few months. However, the rewards for his hard work are now coming. Having been close to him for a few years, I know how he thinks and acts in difficult times. So I am not surprised at his excellent performance in international cricket and for Gujarat Titans.”
“I want him to perform well on the field. Sometimes he acts modestly, but instead of criticizing him and pulling him down, support him to play happily and achieve success. A great cricketer like him comes once in a generation spanning many years. I wish him good luck and best wishes.”
Hardik Pandya got Hardik Pandya after many years when India, as he says, was looking for good all-rounders and got modest players like Stuart Binny. Pollard wished Pandya, who is his close friend, to do well in the coming years, including the World Cup, and asked fans not to criticize him as he stumbles at times but mostly performs well.
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