Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya has not played a match since he was injured last year during the home series. With T20 World Cup 2020 lined up, the allrounder selection might be under doubt. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that Pandya will surely be in the T20 World Cup squad because of his allrounder skills.
Pandya sustained a back injury ahead of the South Africa Test series. He went under surgery in the UK and then was out of the team because he was under the rehabilitation period in National Cricket Academy. He recovered after eight months and was set to play in the ODI series scheduled in March this year. But the outbreak of coronavirus led the suspension of the series.
IPL 2020, which was scheduled to start from 29th March, was the best platform for Hardik to get prepared but the pandemic has also hit it. So, he has been out of the game for a very long period, and it might affect his performance.
Harbhajan Singh sure of Hardik Pandya’s selection in T20 World Cup 2020:
Harbhajan doesn’t believe that the ouster of Hardik for an extended period can lead his ouster from the mega event. He said that he is a proven player and he doesn’t need an IPL to judge his ability.
“Hardik Pandya has not played after the World Cup. But I can give you in writing that if he is fit and irrespective of whether the IPL takes place or not when the team will be made he will be in the team because if the team needs to maintain combination, he has to be in the team. You need these kinds of players. So some players cannot be judged on IPL form. It is for them who are not proven players,” he told IANS.
Hardik’s ouster has given a chance to Shivam Dube, but he failed to prove himself. The Baroda player after recovering from injury had participated in the DY Patil T20 Cup 2020 where he struck gigantic sixes and also scored centuries.