IND vs PAK: "Hardik Pandya Is Not Your 5th Bowler; Expecting 4 Overs From Him Not Correct": Cheteshwar Pujara Angry After India's Loss to Pakistan

Indian Cricket Team suffered a massive defeat against Men in Green on Sunday (04th September). The Men in Blue weren’t able to pick wickets at regular intervals which hurt them a lot. India Surprisingly made Hardik Pandya their 5th bowler which didn’t pay off well.

The all-rounder was taken to the cleaners by Pakistan batters and was looking quite clueless. Skipper Rohit Sharma should have squeezed out a couple of overs from Deepak Hooda which would have kept Hardik Pandya fresh.

Indian Cricket Team’s selection was quite questionable as they opted for a tyro Deepak Hooda in place of a seasoned campaigner Dinesh Karthik. Dinesh Karthik has the knack of finishing the innings on a high. The team would regret not getting a total of around 200 runs. The Men in Blue lacked firepower at the back end of the innings which proved to be the turning point in the match.

Cheteshwar Pujara on Hardik Pandya

India’s Star Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara was quite vocal about Hardik Pandya. “Hardik has been bowling well, but we can’t consider him a fifth bowler. I think expecting four overs from him every time is not correct. However, we didn’t have enough choices because Avesh Khan was ill. In the future, there might be a few changes in the team, and if Hardik continues to play the role of the sixth bowler, it would be better,” Pujara was quoted saying during an interaction on ESPNCricinfo.

“I think Pakistan played very well, especially Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz’s promotion in the batting order. He played with a good strike rate which played an X-factor for Pakistan. Our bowling could have been better, but I feel that we could have scored 15-20 more runs on this wicket. It was 190-200 wickets. We didn’t bat well during the middle overs” the India batter added.

High Expectations from Hardik Pandya

Team India has made it clear that they want to strengthen their batting lineup. Teams like Australia & New Zealand make their all-rounder their 5th bowling option and that has been going on for a long time. India looks to make Hardik, a lethal all-rounder as he showed his prowess in the 1st match against Pakistan.

Hardik Pandya should be used in 3 spells which can be productive rather than giving him back-to-back overs. We all know that he has become an ‘X’ factor for the team since his resurgence. Rahul Dravid & Rohit Sharma won’t tinker too much with the approach as the duo are often seen giving players a long rope.

Also Read: IND Vs PAK: Rohit Sharma Slams Rishabh Pant And Hardik Pandya After India’s Loss vs Pakistan, Says There Wicket Wasn’t Needed