Hardik Pandya is among the Indian players in New York gearing up for the start of the 2024 T20 World Cup and there are possibly more eyes on him and how he performs than any of his teammates. Pandya, who captained India in T20Is for much of 2023, had a horrific 2024 season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was also his first season as captain of the Mumbai Indians.
A host of off-field issues resulting from his replacing Rohit Sharma as captain of MI in his first season back with the franchises led to the fans at the Wankhede Stadium, and almost every other stadium in the country, turning on him. This seemed to affect his own and the team’s performance as well, with the five-time champions finishing bottom of the table with just four wins in 14 matches. Pandya picked 11 wickets in 14 matches but also had an economy of 10.75. He scored just 216 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 143.05 and average of 18.00.
The all-rounder was picked in the Indian team for the 2024 T20 World Cup despite this form and former fast bowler RP Singh has said that Pandya will have to bowl his full quota of four overs in the tournament. “Hardik bowled in the IPL and bowled four overs so there’s no injury scare. Hardik’s bowling will be important and he will have to bowl all his quota of 4-overs,” he said. There was renewed speculation over Pandya’s fitness in the first half of the IPL when he bowled sparingly. However, he picked up his bowling workload as the tournament progressed.
‘If Dube bowls it’ll be added advantage for India’
Singh also said that Shivam Dube bowling for India would be an added advantage for the 2007 champions. “If Shivam Dube bowls too, then it will be an added advantage for India ahead. Shivam may not play some matches initially but whenever he plays, he will perform well and score runs for India,” he said.
Pandya had to deal with boos and jeers in almost every stadium of the country, particularly in Mumbai where fans seemed to have never accepted him as a replacement for Rohit Sharma. Pandya had been traded by the Gujarat Titans, whom he had led to the title in their debut IPL season and the runners-up position in the next, to the Mumbai Indians in the most high-profile before the auction last year. However, there was widespread anger among MI fans over him replacing Rohit as captain
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