India emerged victorious in the 2011 ODI World Cup, thanks to the remarkable contributions from their talented players. Among them, Yuvraj Singh stood out with his exceptional all-round skills, amassing an impressive 362 runs and claiming 15 wickets. His outstanding performance earned him the well-deserved title of Player of the Series.
As India gears up for another World Cup campaign next month, fans eagerly speculate who could fill Yuvraj's shoes. Renowned Pakistani fast bowler, Waqar Younis, believes that Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja possess the potential to step up and excel in this role. He elaborated on the reasons behind his choice.
"Look at what Hardik and Jadeja bring to the table. They are well equipped with both bat and ball. Especially Hardik Pandya – the way he batted against Pakistan – I think he is a really destructive batter at No. 6. Any team would love to have someone like him. He is aggressive, and now as we saw in the previous match, he is very sensible and smart," Waqar told the host broadcaster during the Asia Cup 2023 encounter between India and Pakistan.
Waqar was discussing the Group A match between India and Pakistan, specifically highlighting the moment when Hardik entered the batting crease with the score at 66/4. Hardik's exceptional performance rescued the Men in Blue as he scored an impressive 87 runs off just 90 balls.
"I feel that these 2 at No. 6 and 7 will give India that push. All they want to do is not lose early wickets. If you give these 2 last 10 overs, they can chase the game pretty quickly," Waqar added.
Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar praised Hardik and Jadeja, but emphasized that Yuvraj was in a league of his own. Manjrekar's concern regarding Hardik lies in the possibility that the talented Baroda cricketer may struggle to complete a full quota of 10 overs in every match.
"Yuvraj is arguably India's best white-ball batter. He could win games and was in a different league. Hardik and Jadeja, with due respect, aren't quite there. These 2 are far better bowlers than Yuvraj Singh but because that one discipline was so discipled…" said Manjrekar, before the former Pakistan captain cut him off. "Not even Hardik Pandya? With the kind of batting that he has shown? I am not comparing them but the intention is there," said Waqar.
Manjrekar persistently expressed his viewpoint, which was largely reasonable. However, there is still some uncertainty surrounding Hardik's capability to bowl his full quota of 10 overs. While the combined skill set of Hardik and Jadeja may surpass Yuvraj's all-round abilities, neither of them has yet proven their batting prowess to match Yuvraj's consistent contributions with the bat.
"He has the potential but when I see him at this stage, it's not a guarantee that he will come and bowl all 10 overs like one of the mainstream bowlers. I see him as more of a batting all-rounder and he batted really well in the last game. So yes, they have this combined skill to make the kind of contribution made but one discipline of Yuvraj Singh, like I said, was at a different level. In pitches that help Jadeja the bowler, his batting will come through but Hardik the batter doesn't need a bad ball or loose ball to decide that this needs to go," he mentioned.
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