Hardik Pandya’s return to the Indian cricket team is being seen as a big positive for the Men in Blue. After performing brilliantly for Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2022, he batted brilliantly in the first T20 match against South Africa. Scored 31 runs in just 12 balls. However, his decision to deny Dinesh Karthik a single off the last ball of the first innings has left many upset.
Hardik had faced a few more deliveries than Karthik at that time. In such a situation, he himself faced the last ball, but could score only 2 runs. Reacting to the all-rounder’s decision, IPL coach Ashish Nehra feels that the all-rounder should not have done so.
Nehra took a jibe at Hardik over this. He said on Cricbuzz, “He should have taken a single before the last ball. Dinesh Karthik was on the other end, not me. Hardik Pandya is someone who can play all kinds of roles. He has batted all the way so far. We have seen him perform well in Tests and ODIs as well. With his batting ability, he can probably bat at any position…be it No. 3 or 4.
Nehra further said, “He was the captain of Gujarat and he contributed with the ball as well. It was a different role. Earlier he was not bowling much and was batting down the order. He is back in his old role today… but he has the ability to play any role with ease.”
In the match against South Africa, Pandya was seen batting brilliantly at the crease. The experienced all-rounder scored 31 runs in just 12 balls with the help of 2 fours and 3 sixes. On the other hand, Karthik was able to play only 2 balls in the match, in which he scored 1 run. Hardik helped India score 211 runs, but South Africa chased down the target with 5 balls to spare. Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller gave the victory with excellent batting.