The India Cricket Team is currently brimming with confidence. This comes after India’s win against New Zealand. Now, former Team India opener Aakash Chopra has claimed that Hardik Pandya is the most valuable player for the country in the white-ball format of the game. Chopra claimed that Hardik is a clutch player who knows how and when to deliver when his team needs the most.
Yesterday, after the gritty knock from both Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, India needed a fine finish. It was obviously Hardik Pandya who came to India’s rescue. He played a crucial knock of 45 runs with 4 fours and 2 sixes to help India post a decent total of 249 runs.
Hardik Pandya – India’s clutch player
“If there is a clutch player, it’s Hardik Pandya. I am saying he is India’s most valuable player in white-ball cricket. Axar Patel also played a good knock. There was a question about why he was promoted as KL Rahul could have been sent if the batting was coming in the powerplay,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra went on to explain that Hardik Pandya executed his role to perfection. He went on to keep the pressure on the Kiwi bowlers as he launched his attack on the bowlers. He executed his shots to perfection, hammering 6 boundaries to help India see the end of the innings.
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“There was pressure but he bats with the tail. He stayed till the end. One or two shots were fantastic. He hit (Kyle) Jamieson over cover and then over midwicket, and just keeps taking the game deep. He is not doing this for the first time. Whenever there is pressure, he is the guy who stands up and gets counted, and does it eight or nine times out of 10,” he explained.
“Hardik is that clutch player who brings balance. You couldn’t have dropped Harshit Rana if Hardik hadn’t been in your team because no matter how much help might be there on the pitch (for the spinners), you want to play with two fast bowlers. You need to have at least two options,” he concluded.
