Hardik Pandya was the star of the Indian brigade last night against Pakistan as the all-rounder outclassed in both bowling and batting departments. The Gujarat-born played an outstanding 33-run knock from 17 balls and took Indian team home with two balls to spare.
His stellar performance earned him the Man of the Match award and a lot of praise from former cricketers. Indian head coach Ravi Shastri, was also in the list who heaped praise on the 28-year-old.
He rated him as the best T20 all-rounder and credited him for his batting exploits.
“Needed the best T20 all-rounder in the business to power India across the finish line,” he tweeted.
Needed the best T20 all-rounder in the business to power India across the finish line – @hardikpandya7 🇮🇳🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/78zXFF3Ctm
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) August 29, 2022
‘We missed him really badly last year’: Ravi Shastri
Ahead of the Asia Cup, Ravi Shastri pointed out that India missed the all-rounder last year and it paved way for India’s early exit from the 20-20 World Cup 2021. He highlighted the importance of the impact that the Gujarat skipper creates in the dressing room and rated him as one of the most important players in the format.
“He (Pandya) is one of the most important cogs in the wheel as far as India is concerned. You take him out of the squad and the balance goes away. That’s how important he is. You don’t know whether to play an extra batsman or an extra bowler,” Shastri was quoted as saying.
The former Indian head coach further added that he is the only one who can bat at that position and backed him to play more matches for Team India.
“We missed him really badly last year in the (T20) World Cup when he couldn’t bowl. It makes a massive difference. There is no one close to him when it comes to the quality that he possesses at that number. I think he is an extremely important player and has to be watched very closely. With the number of matches coming up, he is the last person you want to play in all those matches,” he was quoted as saying further.
