Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has just returned to the national team and has already shown his importance to the team. Now, the chief selector MSK Prasad claimed that Hardik Pandya’s availability made a healthy balance to the national side.
The Indian national cricket team missed the all-rounder Hardik Pandya for more than four months. In last September, during the final group stage game of 2018 Asia Cup, Hardik Pandya suffered an acute back injury. Since then, he missed the remaining part of that Asia Cup as well as the entire home international series against Windies.
Pandya further missed the T20I series in Australia tour, and he wasn’t selected in the Test squad too. Later, in last December, Hardik Pandya returned to the game through the domestic cricket where he produced an all-round performance.
That performance helped Hardik Pandya to return to the national squad as the selectors included him in the Test squad for the last two Tests of the series. However, the team management didn’t select him in the playing XI during the remaining Test series. Hardik Pandya was also in the ODI squad in that Australia tour, but later, the BCCI suspended him due to the talk-show controversy.
Hardik Pandya finally returns to the playing XI
Recently, the selectors re-included Hardik Pandya to the national squad in the ongoing New Zealand tour. Finally, he made an international comeback last Monday (28 January) during the third ODI of the ongoing five-match ODI series in New Zealand. In that game, Pandya played an important role in India’s comfortable victory that also secured the series for India. Apart from taking two wickets, Hardik Pandya took a stunner to dismiss the set Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson.
Before the final ODI of the series, MSK Prasad praised Hardik Pandya for his cricketing talents. Prasad strongly believes that Pandya is an essential member in the present Indian national cricket team.
The chief national selector told Cricbuzz in an interview, “Hardik Pandya definitely adds huge strength to the team’s balance. He brings in that additional strength to all three departments (batting, bowling and fielding). He has an abundance of talent, which he needs to realise and convert into match-winning performances.”
We stand united and take responsibility for the outcome: Prasad
On the other hand, Prasad also opened up the present relation between the team management and the selection committee. He claimed that there was a very healthy relationship.
He said, “The team management and the selection committee have built a wonderful rapport in the last couple of years. We do have a few odd differences but at the end of the day, we stand united and take responsibility for the outcome.
“The selection committee, team management and Rahul Dravid have built healthy systems of monitoring the progress of players from domestic levels to India A, and from there to the senior Indian team. Because of this combined grooming process, the players don’t feel overawed when they are thrown on to the bigger stage.”
These healthy relationships are ultimately helping the national side to grow up consistently. The current players are feeling motivated in this friendlier condition.