Damning Verdict of Harsha Bhogle's On Hardik Pandya's T20 World Cup Selection
The all-rounder of Team India, Hardik Pandya, remains a pillar in the Indian team, especially in white-ball cricket. But the question here is: what if Hardik is only playing as a batter? Does he make the T20 World Cup 2024 squad in that case? In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, over the last three matches for the Mumbai Indians, Hardik has only bowled a solitary over. Against the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals, the skipper of the Mumbai Indians chose not to bowl at all and went for 13 runs in one over that he bowled against RCB.
The situation does leave a question mark on the faces of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors.
In the wake of the situation, famous Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle asked a million-dollar question: if Hardik should be picked in India's T20 World Cup squad as a pure batter. For Harsha, the answer remains no, as there are other better pure batters on the team.
On being asked from Bhogle, "If Hardik is not bowling, does Hardik make the T20 World Cup squad?" While answering this question, Bhogle said, "Is he among the top six batters in India if he is not bowling? I'm not totally convinced of that because if he is not bowling and he is not finishing as powerfully, he needs to bat up, where all the competition is."