Ajay Jadeja Feels Hardik Pandya Isn’t Playing In Ideal Position

Mar 17, 2021 at 7:54 PM

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Ajay Jadeja Feels Hardik Pandya Isn’t Playing In Ideal Position

Ajay Jadeja has said that the Indian team could be better served if all-rounder Hardik Pandya is pushed up the order.

While analyzing India’s eight-wicket loss to England in the third T20I in Ahmedabad, Ajay Jadeja talked about how Hardik Pandya’s destructive prowess with the bat is not being fully utilized by the team.

Ajay Jadeja (Image: BCCL)
Ajay Jadeja (Image: BCCL)

Ajay Jadeja Feels Some Players Not Playing In Ideal Position Like Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has managed 424 runs in 30 innings averaging only 18.43. He has played only an innings each at No. 3 and No. 4 and has played predominantly at No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 in his short T20I career.

Ajay Jadeja said in this regard: “I feel some players are not playing in their ideal positions. For example, I am a big fan of how Hardik Pandya plays his game. When he came out to bat today, look at the England bowlers who had overs left. Archer, Wood, and an over or two of someone else.”

The former player suggested that Hardik Pandya is more often facing the opposition’s best bowlers when he comes in to bat at No. 7. With death-over specialists bowling at the end, Hardik Pandya misses out on feasting against the opposition’s weaker bowlers. Ajay Jadeja feels Hardik Pandya could produce higher returns if he doesn’t have to face the opposition’s frontline bowlers.

“There is no team who have five frontline bowlers. You will always have one bowler who’s slightly weaker than the others. India need to understand which batsman will give them the maximum returns when they come up against a particular bowler,” said Jadeja.

Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya. Photo Credit: BCCI

Hardik Pandya struggled to get going when he came out to bat late in the 15th overs in the third T20I. The all-rounder failed to push up the ante against the duo of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, as he slashed at several deliveries without much success.

“You know the pace at which Hardik Pandya bats when he’s having a good day. You have to think whether you want to up the ante when your batsmen are facing Archer or Wood, or when someone like Jordan or Sam Curran is bowling. That’s why I feel India’s current batting lineup isn’t in their best interest,” concluded Jadeja.

Hardik Pandya did strike a couple of lusty blows to finish with a 15-ball 17 after scoring three of his first seven balls. After seeing Hardik Pandya’s struggle against England pacers, Ajay Jadeja wonders whether it would have been more prudent for him to have come in to bat when Sam Curran was bowling in middle overs.

Hardik Pandya Has Struggled In 3 T20Is Against England Scoring 36 Runs Averaging 18 Only

In the first game, Hardik Pandya came in at No. 6 but scored at less than a run-a-ball before perishing to Jofra Archer after scoring a rather sedate 19 runs off 21 balls. It was a similar story in the third T20I, too, as Hardik Pandya struggled to match Virat Kohli’s scoring rate in the end overs.

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli. Photo Credit: (BCCI)

Hardik Pandya has batted up the order for Mumbai Indians to great effect, but that position seems unavailable to him in India’s current T20I setup. Players like Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and also Suryakumar Yadav being in the mix, it is unlikely Hardik Pandya would bat higher up the order for the Indian T20I team any time soon.

The all-rounder has a specific role as a finisher on India’s T20I side. His job is to finish off games and act as the third seamer in home conditions. After a couple of disappointments in this ongoing series, Hardik Pandya could be raring to prove a point and atone for his poor average in T20Is when India take on England in the 4th T20I on March 18.

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