India all-rounder Hardik Pandya said that he received lots of unnecessary flak during the T20 World Cup as India was knocked out from the group stage of the tournament. He pointed out that he was pushed to bowl in the second match against New Zealand despite being selected as a batsman in the squad.
In the first match of the T20 World Cup 2021, India faced a 10-wicket thrashing against Pakistan as the arch-rivals beat India for the first time in a World Cup match. The cricket pundits criticized India’s think tank for going with only 5 bowling options as India failed to pick a single wicket in the match.
Recalling the tournament, Pandya said that he felt like everything was thrown at him so he pushed himself to bowl in the next match against New Zealand.
Hardik Pandya didn’t bowl in the previous two seasons of IPL
Pandya bowled 2 overs each in the matches against New Zealand and Afghanistan. But after facing another defeat against New Zealand, India was eventually knocked out of the tournament.
“I was kind of getting the sense or vibe that a lot of things came on me. Obviously, that is fine. I play the sport, I get the. But the position in which we were and when I went, I felt everything was kept on me, everything was thrown at me. I didn’t bowl, yes, but I was selected in the team as a batsman.
“I worked really hard to bowl in the first game, which obviously I was not able to. I got to hit the first game and in the second game when I pulled, I wasn’t supposed to go. I pushed for my team but eventually setbacks as you said things happen,” Hardik Pandya spoke to Boria Majumdar on the show ‘Backstage With Boria’.
Hardik hasn’t played any competitive game since the World Cup as he is working on his fitness to make a return as an all-rounder. The Ahmedabad franchise picked him as one of the three draft picks with a price tag of 15 Crores. He has also been appointed as captain of the team for IPL 2022 as he is looking forward to the challenge.
“I want to play as an all-rounder. If something goes bad, then I don’t know but my preparations are all about playing as an all-rounder. I am feeling good, feeling strong and eventually, the time will say what happens,” he added.