Hardik sends a subtle message to Kohli on a multifaceted topic | Photo credit: AP
Key points
- Hardik Pandya has temporarily become a pure hitter due to a back injury he suffered last year.
- With Hardik not bowling, India does not have a reliable sixth bowler on the ODI team
- Hardik has now recommended his brother Krunal’s name for the role.
India’s skipper Virat Kohli spoke about the lack of full options on the Indian team as the Men in Blue were beaten by Australia in 66 races in the first ODI on Friday. Hardik, who was deployed as a pure hitter on the team due to back problems, admitted that the lack of the sixth bowling option was going to be difficult for the team.
With Hardik playing solo as a hitter right now, India didn’t have an all-rounder on the team to hit the ball after the top five pitchers gave up runs in abundance. When asked about the issue regarding the absence of the sixth bowler on the team, Hardik subtly defended his brother Krunal’s name for the role.
“That has always been the question, right? We have to find and maybe do … I’ve always believed that … even when I hit the track, I wasn’t always the off-roader I wanted to be. But over time I braced myself and became that bowling option. I worked at my bowling alley, ”he said.
“Yes, it will always be difficult when you go with five bowlers. When someone has a day off, you have no one to meet the quota. More than injury, the role of the sixth bowler is when someone among the five players is having a bad day. I think it’s going to be… maybe we have to do, maybe we have to find someone who has already played against India, prepare him and find a way to make him play, ”added young Pandya.
In the most subtle way, the 27-year-old claimed that perhaps his brother could solve the problem in India. “Look at the Pandya family, there is one waiting at home,” he said, alluding to Krunal.
‘I want to be 100% sure of my bowling alley’
Hardik has abstained from bowling due to a back injury he suffered last year. Although he doesn’t plan to give up bowling entirely, Hardik still doesn’t consider himself a 100% bowling supporter. The Surat-born cricketer plans to use both the traits in the upcoming World Cups as well as some other important assignments that India will have in the future.
“It is a process. I’m looking at a long-term goal where I want to be at 100% bowling ability for the biggest games. The World Cups are coming. More crucial series to come. Whenever necessary, ”Pandya said of his bowling alley.
“I’m thinking like a long-term plan, not a short-term plan where I burn out and maybe have something else. [injury] that is not there. So it’s going to be a process that I’m following. I can’t tell you exactly when I’m going bowling, but the process is underway. In the networks, I am playing bowling. It’s just that I’m not ready to play, but I’m bowling. It’s about confidence and the skill has to be at the international level. “
Pandya’s comments hint that he won’t be bowling again anytime soon. As for its older brother Krunal, the spinning bowling all-rounder has appeared in 18 T20I, but it has yet to earn a cap in the 50-over format.
