T20 World Cup 2021: “If Hardik Pandya Clicks, He’ll Make The Match One-Sided” – Virender Sehwag

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag believes Hardik Pandya has the ability to make a match on-sided. He added that the all-rounder will be his first pick for the India vs Pakistan clash on Sunday, October 24.

Hardik Pandya’s inclusion in the playing XI has been a matter of debate since the announcement of the squad. The all-rounder’s injury has hampered his bowling, in-fact he did not bowl a single over in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. However, Virender Sehwag has backed Hardik Pandya. He believes that Hardik should play in the team, as he can make the match one-sided. Sehwag said:

“He’ll be on my team. The kind of batter he is, if he clicks, he’ll make the match one-sided, and finish it. He has the ability, which he has shown many times. Yes, if he was bowling fit, that would have been the icing on the cake…”

“You should go with five bowlers plus if Hardik Pandya or someone else from the top-order bowls a few overs, it’ll be the perfect team for me… His batting is surely a concern. If he’s not in form or not batting well in the nets, then you can maybe see another batter, otherwise, he’ll be my first pick,” he added.

All w̶a̶r̶m̶e̶d̶ fired up 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1z8NDwtSxQ

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) October 20, 2021

Virender Sehwag predicts India’s bowling combination

Virender Sehwag also expressed his opinion on India’s bowling combination for the match against Pakistan. The former cricketer has highlighted that Ravindra Jadeja provides balance to the side with his all-round abilities. He asserted that Varun Chakravarthy will play ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin and Rahul Chahar. Sehwag said,

“Jadeja gives you the combination of batting and bowling. He can bowl four overs because Pakistan just has one left-hander, which is Fakhar Zaman.”

“Varun Chakravarthy will play against Pakistan for the first time so even the Pakistanis don’t know what kind of bowling he offers, so he could be that X-factor. Ashwin and Rahul Chahar are normal spinners. I believe the Pakistani batters will play them out easily because they are good players of spin,” he added.

Virender Sehwag also feels that the experienced seamer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be in the playing XI. He acknowledged that the seamer isn’t in great form, but should get a chance in an India-Pakistan match, because of his ability to bowl yorkers in the death overs.

“I am going with Bhuvneshwar Kumar because of his superior experience. He can hit good yorkers at the death; he can trouble the batters if there’s a swing on offer with the new ball… He’s surely isn’t in great bowling rhythm, but that doesn’t matter in an India-Pakistan match because you try to give more than 100%,” Sehwag concluded.