Hardik Pandya has become the talk of the town, after his stellar bowling performance at Dharamshala stole the show in India’s comfortable win against New Zealand. Playing his first ODI, Pandya initially displayed some nerves, as he was hit for three boundaries in his very first over. The youngster, though, kept his calm and held his nerve, as he got rid of Martin Guptill in that very over. That was followed by the wickets of Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi in his spell.
After India’s dominating performance, skipper MS Dhoni was a pleased captain. The veteran Indian captain, in particular, praised the debutant Pandya for his impressive performance. Dhoni, dropped a hint or two, as he mentioned, that with the Champions Trophy next year in the seaming conditions of England, Pandya could well be tried with a long-term perspective kept in mind.
“We only have eight games before the Champions Trophy, so we would like to see under different situations and conditions how he reacts and how he quickly he can adapt to the conditions,” Dhoni said. “Of course, let’s say, for example, if it is 2-2 and it is the fifth game of the series, then we will obviously try to play the best XI. But, I don’t see any reason if he keeps performing the way he did in this game why he can’t be our first pick when it comes to the three fast bowlers,” said Dhoni.
Dhoni clearly has revealed his mindset about the team combination in this case. He considers Pandya to be a maturing cricketer, as the lines he bowled at Dharamshala were decent enough. If the Baroda all-rounder continues to impress with his bowling displays, he could well be on course to becoming a regular member in the playing XI.
Speaking about the move to try Pandya with the new ball, Dhoni said, “Our thinking was to give him a chance to exploit the new ball. The reason being, we all felt, he is quite deceptive – he can bowl quick and he has got movement,” Dhoni said. “Even on wickets where some of the other bowlers don’t get that kind of swing, he is still somebody who can get some purchase off the wicket.”