Hardik Pandya can be in any white-ball team solely as a batter: Ashish Nehra
Hardik Pandya can be in any white-ball team solely as a batter: Ashish Nehra
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Former Indian pacer and Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra who spent a lot of time together with Hardik Pandya recently at the IPL franchise has refused to speculate when the all-rounder will be ready to bowl the full quota of 10 overs in ODIs, adding that the cricketer can play "solely as a batter".
Hardik, who struggled with back issues in his career, underwent a surgery in 2019 and has since not been bowling regularly for India in international games. Even if he bowls, he rarely completes his full quota of overs across T20Is or ODIs. Pandya's inability to bowl had become an issue even before the 2021 T20 World Cup but the then captain Virat Kohli had thrown his weight behind the player, saying that his batting prowess was of a lot of value to the team.
Pandya did not play for India after the World Cup and made a return in June this year in the home T20I series against South Africa after guiding debutant Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in the 2022 edition. Since his return, Pandya has been bowling regularly but not always his full quota of overs. In the two T20Is against England, he bowled seven overs, while in the first ODI he got four overs.
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Recently, Nehra was asked if Pandya is ready to bowl 10 overs in ODIs. To which the former pacer said even Pandya doesn't have the answer to that question.
“Even Hardik won’t be able to answer that since you can plan but things don’t always fall into place. But so far so good," Nehra said during a media interaction.
Nehra, however, added that Pandya can be part of a white-ball team just as a batter and the allrounder should be seen as a sixth bowler in the side and not the fifth.
"Hardik can be in any white ball team solely as a batter. On top of that, if he bowls it will be a bonus. But you can’t keep him as your fifth bowler in T20 or 50 overs. He can only be your sixth bowler,” he added.
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He further said that Pandya should be given time to get back to his best given his fitness issues.
“But looking at his fitness, you have build it up slowly. He will not be going to the West Indies for ODIs which is good in a way. When you are an out-and-out fast bowler you don’t have a choice. You have to bowl, you have to be fit... But it’s not the case with Hardik. He has been doing well during the last 2-3 months. He can bowl 10 overs also in 50-over cricket. But even if he gives 5-6 overs, it’s a huge bonus."
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