Hardik Pandya’s ‘Runs And Wickets’ For The Men In Blue Was The Clincher!

Once the news broke out that Hardik Pandya was set to return to the Mumbai Indians for the ongoing Tata-IPL Season 17, he has been the hot topic of conversations.  The India all rounder has also been the butt of criticism for his dismal show in the league, but numbers — 197 runs at a high scoring rate of 11 an over and six wickets at 42.17 after 10 matches puts him among the top six all rounders in the league. The selectors were satisfied with his fitness after his recovery from an ankle injury of his landing foot, and the fact that he sent down 23 overs also could not be ignored, although they would have liked to see him more proactive with the ball. What the selectors considered it necessary to look at was his display with the bat (359 runs in 19 Twenty20 internationals) and ball (19 wickets at 21.11) after the last Twenty20 World Cup in Australia. Pandya’s overall record in Twenty20 internationals is 1348 runs and 73 wickets with a strike rate of 19.63. Moreover, he is a classy fielder and has led India in 16 matches with a success percentage 62.50. So it was his performance for the Men in Blue that gave weightage to his choice as a player and vice -captain for the Twenty20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. Had he not gone down with the ankle injury in the World Cup match against Bangladesh last October, Pandya, a game-changer, would have probably been the team’s captain.