Srinagar: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has been under lot of pressure recently and now anotjer twist has been added to his already tense situation after overtaking captaincy from Rohit Sharma.
While Pandya replaced Rohit as captain in Mumbai Indians side, but the Team India is still ruled by Rohit Sharma who is the captain of the team.
Now the Indian Express report has claimed that Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar have set conditions for Hardik Pandya’s place in the squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
They convened in Mumbai last week to deliberate over India’s T20 World Cup squad, with the primary focus of the two-hour meeting during the midst of IPL 2024 being Pandya’s inclusion in the World Cup squad.
Although there is some time left before the selectors finalise India’s 15-member squad for the global event scheduled to be held in the USA and the West Indies immediately after the 17th edition of the IPL concludes, the Indian team management is apprehensive about Hardik’s bowling fitness.
Hardik Pandya has managed to score just 131 runs in six IPL matches. Apart from a brisk innings against RCB where he scored an unbeaten 21 off just six balls, there have been doubts about his approach in the middle overs, where he has struggled to maintain the desired strike rate.
Rohit, Dravid, and Agarkar’s primary concerns, however, revolve around his bowling. While many in the current Indian setup can fill Pandya’s role as a batsman in T20s, not many can do so while reliably delivering four overs as the third seamer for the side. This is where Pandya stands out and brings balance to the XI.
In the 11 overs he has bowled in IPL 2024, he has managed to pick up only three wickets and conceded runs at a rate of 12 runs per over. While there doesn’t appear to be any fitness-related issues with his bowling, his form is a cause for concern.
The selectors will only consider Pandya for the T20 World Cup if he consistently bowls well in the IPL.