The former India star wants Hardik Pandya to regain his batting form in the Asia Cup.
Taking responsibility after India suffered a shocking series defeat to the West Indies, stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that his batting no-show was indeed a turning point as the Men In Blue lost the 5th T20I on Sunday. Hardik and Co. were outplayed by the West Indies, who hammered the Indian side by 8 wickets to clinch the series 3-2 at Lauderhill’s Central Broward Regional Park Stadium.
Pandya failed to provide the finish that India badly needed to set up a challenging total in the 20-over contest. Arriving in the 11th over of the Indian innings, the India captain only managed to score 14 off 18 balls. India were 86 for 3 in the 11th over and Pandya’s men only added 20 runs in the next 22 balls. Pandya was dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the 17th over. Following the departure of the Indian captain, the Suryakumar Yadav-starrer side posted 165-9 in 20 overs.
Riding on Brandon King’s brilliant 85-run knock, the West Indies chased down the target with two overs to spare. Reflecting on Pandya’s performances in the five-match T20I series, former India cricketer Parthiv Patel observed that the Indian stand-in skipper is ‘still a work in progresss’. Hardik’s bowling changes were also panned by Parthiv, who wants the all-rounder to have a run-fest Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.
‘Hardik didn’t get runs in IPL, he didn’t get runs in last series’
“Against Nicholas Pooran, he (Hardik Pandya) gave that over to Axar Patel and not bowling Yuzvendra Chahal. Bowling changes and the utilisation of the bowlers are something that tells me that Hardik, the captain for India, is still a work in progress. And there is obviously a little concern about his batting. He needs runs. He didn’t get runs in the IPL, he didn’t get runs in the last couple of series as well. India would want to get some runs for Hardik Pandya in the Asia Cup or the series against Australia before the World Cup,” Parthiv told.
Hardik scored 77 runs at a strike rate of 110 in the five-match T20I series between the two teams. Earlier, the middle-order had played a match-winning knock of 70 against the West Indies in the One Day International (ODI) series decider. The India star accumulated 82 runs in the ODI series. The 29-year-old has been rested for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Ireland.
