IPL 2019: Gautam Gambhir Hails Hardik Pandya for his New Beginning
May 14, 2019 at 2:11 PM
In the recently-culminated Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians (MI) allrounder Hardik Pandya has shouldered the responsibility not only with the bat but with the ball too. The exciting cricketer has played some match-winning cameos apart from picking wickets at regular intervals to despite looking off-colour in between. Thus, he has impressed former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir.
The southpaw has credited Pandya for maintaining his integrity and backing his time well according to the situation. Gambhir continued Indians have identified the talent quite well.
Gambhir further reiterated that he was anxious how Mumbai’s management would respond in the wake up of talk show. Eventually, which also saw Hardik and KL Rahul facing the heat over social media. He has lauded Mumbai’s management for handling the situation with ease.
Gambhir hinted that Pandya was brimming with confidence.
“Other bit that stands out for me is how Mumbai identifies their talent pool. The Pandyas are an example. They were picked out of nowhere and developed into a real force. Honestly, I was worried how the Mumbai team management would react to Hardik’s talk show fiasco. Team owners can be very sensitive to such things but all credit to them for how the whole thing was handled. Hardik never seemed out of depth or out of confidence,” Gambhir wrote in his column for the ToI.
While clearing his stance, Gambhir maintained this doesn’t mean he’s backing what Pandya has said on the chat show. But what he has actually delivered on the field for the four-time IPL champions Indians.
Also, he believes his former franchise – Delhi Capitals (DC) should be happy for making it to the playoffs. However, he suggested the management need to look at the broader spectrum in a bid to look beyond their major players like Kagiso Rabada.
“I am not advocating what he said on the talk show, I am merely stating that Hardik and important stakeholders in his life handled the whole thing really well. Delhi Capitals should be proud to have made to the playoffs. They need some solid talent scouting to have a bigger pool which will stop their dependence on the likes of Rabada or others,” said Gambhir.
The right-handed batsman Pandya, who’s known for flexing his muscles, has amassed 402 runs at an average of 44.67. He further managed to score runs at an outstanding strike-rate of 191.43.
Also, on being used as a medium pace option, Pandya further eked out 14 wickets in the IPL 2019.
IPL 2019: Gautam Gambhir credits CSK and MI –
In conclusion, Gambhir has hailed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Indians for playing their A-game during the crunch situation despite failing to do much with the bat. He stated that backing a player is an important facet which according to him could prove to be fruit in many ways.
“All teams that qualified for the playoffs deserved to win the title. For sheer perseverance and ability to handle pressure Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians deserved it more than others. Look at how Chennai has continued to play Ambati Rayudu despite a not so consistent performance this season,” Gambhir signed off.
The Delhi-based star has himself has featured in 154 IPL match to accumulate 4217 runs at an average of 31.23.