Hardik Pandya, the missing link of Indian ODI team

Why Hardik Pandya? This was the general impression amongst everyone in Dharamshala when Mahendra Singh Dhoni tossed up new ball to this debutant rather than Jasprit Bumrah.

In whatever opportunities this 24-year-old from Baroda got in Twenty20 format, he was seen as hitting the deck more than actually trying to swing the ball around.

And, when one has a pace of around 130-135 kmph, there is a danger of taking too much of risk against an opposition which is more comfortable against short balls. But Dhoni appeared to be confident about it.
It was just a few minutes before that Pandya was shaking hands with all his teammates inside the boundary rope before collecting the ODI cap from the legendary allrounder Kapil Dev. Who knows after a wait of 38 years to the day since the former India captain made his Test debut in Pakistan, Pandya could well fit it into his boots. Well, that’s just too much of putting pressure on this young man.

With new ball in hand, Pandya started off a little nervous as Kiwi opener Martin Guptill picked him for three boundaries in his first five balls, including a couple of edges to third man. The ball was seaming and it was only a question of keeping calm and bowling to a line.
The next one swung a bit to carry Guptill’s edge to second slip and there was Pandya outstretching his arms in wild celebration. Dhoni rushed on to him. It was he who wanted it more than this debutant.

“Our thinking was to give him a chance to exploit the new ball. The reason was simple because he is deceptive and can also bowl quicker with the movement,” was how Dhoni explained his decision after the game.
India under Dhoni have been experimenting with many new faces for this slot. Be it Stuart Binny or Dhawal Kulkarni or Jaidev Unadkat, Dhoni desperately wanted someone to fill this all-rounder void. “Even on wickets where some of the other bowlers don’t get that kind of swing, he is still somebody who can get some purchase of the wicket,” Dhoni had all praise for the Baroda all-rounder.

Keeping in mind that India have to play the ICC Champions Trophy in English swinging conditions, Pandya’s success could well be a game changer for India. If he could finish his quota of overs within decent limits, Dhoni can have liberty of playing two spinners as well as two main stream pacers.

“We just have eight games before Champions Trophy. So we would like to see under different conditions and situations how he reacts, how quickly he can adapt to the conditions. If he keeps on performing like what he did today (Sunday), I don’t see why we won’t pick him as the first of the three fast bowlers,” said Dhoni.

Pandya was particularly effective against the Kiwi left-hand batsmen as he gave away just 18 runs off the 31 balls he bowled to them. Pandya benefited by having Umesh Yadav at the other end. “So we wanted to give him a go with the new ball. Also, Bumrah is very good in the middle overs where he can give me wickets and also at the death. So, if I can save his overs, I can use him at any point of time. That was the reason we started with Hardik,” Dhoni further explained.

In the end, Pandya’s 3/31 was not bad for a bowler who only a few months ago bowled a nervy first over of 11 balls in T20. And it was only Dhoni who took him off immediately to save him from further blushes.

“After the IPL, I was out for two months. I worked hard on my game and that helped me. I got to know about my game and the areas I needed to improve,” Pandya said before the start of game, adding: “I wanted to work on my bowling and wanted to be more consistent at it and also get better at batting.”

His hard work is the main reason that Pandya now looks a bit quicker, touching 140 occasionally, than his earlier outing.