Ex-coach strips Hardik Pandya of 'all-rounder from Baroda' title, blasts India star for skipping domestic cricket

Former Baroda coach Dav Whatmore has lashed out at India allrounder Hardik Pandya for not playing domestic cricket for a long time. Pandya last played a first-class game for Baroda in December 2018 against Mumbai. But since then, he hasn't played any cricket for Baroda due to his international commitments or injury management.

Hardik Pandya played a key role in India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph recently, where his all-round performances helped India lift the trophy. In the tournament, he scored 144 runs in eight matches at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57. Hardik also played a vital role with the ball picking up 11 wickets in the tournament at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64.

Most importantly, he bowled the last over of the final match and defended 16 runs to take India across the line. His over also included the big wicket of David Miller.

Also read: Ajit Agarkar issues official reason on why Suryakumar Yadav was picked ahead of Hardik Pandya as India's T20I captain

Dav Whatmore slams Hardik Pandya for not playing enough domestic cricket

While speaking to a Pakistani YouTube channel Pak Passion, Whatmore revealed that he could not understand why Hardik Pandya hasn't played for Baroda for such a long time despite being from the region.

"There are some individuals who don't play white-ball cricket. For example, my last few years in Baroda, Hardik Pandya wouldn't ever play white-ball cricket. It always amuses me that he's termed as the all-rounder from Baroda but he hasn't played for Baroda for years," Whatmore said on Pak Passion YouTube channel.

However, Whatmore was pleased with BCCI's latest stance of preferring their domestic cricket in terms of selection. The BCCI has been strict on players choosing IPL over domestic cricket and has also taken strict actions against them.

"But recently, I've seen that the BCCI have been keen that players participate in Ranji Trophy as well as other two formats to ensure they see cricket as sports. Efforts are made to make sure 4-day cricket is not neglected," the former Australia cricketer added.

Dav Whatmore's coaching tenure with Baroda

Dav Whatmore was Baroda's head coach from 2021 to 2023. He was born in Sri Lanka before moving to Australia in his childhood. Whatmore was the coach of the historic Sri Lanka team that won the ICC World Cup title in 1996. He has also worked in the IPL as the head coach of Kolkata Knight Rides in 2010 and 2011.

According to the reports, Hardik Pandya has been told to prove his fitness in the 50-over format by bowling 10 overs in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match. His performance and fitness status will decide his participation in the Champions Trophy to be played next year.

Hardik Pandya has gone through a tough time in the past few months. After being appointed as Mumbai Indians captain for IPL 2024, he received a lot of wrath from the crowd for replacing the crowd's beloved Rohit Sharma as the captain.

Pandya responded with his performance in the T20 World Cup where he emerged as one of India's stars of the tournament. However, his constant injury issues and workload management prompted the selectors to choose Suryakumar Yadav as India's T20I captain ahead of him.