England vs India 2018 - Hardik Pandya, Who?

Hardik Pandya, a young, dynamic, presumably India’s bowling all-rounder, or perhaps a batting one, largely remains to prove his mettle. However, on the current England Test tour, Hardik’s numbers aren’t that bad. He is amongst the top five run-getters for India, and as a bowler, he has ten wickets in eight innings including his maiden five-for at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

So, where is he going wrong? Is he not performing well, or is it the best he has to offer?

Finding the fault in Hardik Pandya’s stars:

Much before he got introduced to Test cricket, Hardik had inked his name in the shorter formats with some limited blitz, not to forget his 76 off 43 balls against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy finale on June 18. Perhaps, that was the innings which had brought him into the limelight.

Now, fast forward seven months, Pandya had hit a gritty 93 on the Cape Town track against South Africa. In a switch second, things started to look gloomy for him; the critics were made to eat their words, the management’s choice of backing him began paying off, and this all made the billions think at home, is he the answer to all the questions?

Must be to a few of them, but to me, NO. Why NO? No, because of his lack of ability to be a difference-maker in a side. He, not being aware or knowing about his potential of exceeding in what department.

Now, he has now become a headache for the board, and surely for the fans. On one day, he wishes to call himself a batting all-rounder, and fails to hit runs on a consistent basis; and on the other evening, he is happy to have a tag of a bowling all-rounder besides his name. In a nutshell, that’s not serving a purpose, does it?

Let’s rewind to the South Africa tour early this year. Not expectedly but disappointingly, India had lost the close three-match Test series 2-1. Hardik Pandya, being on his first offshore tour, failed to leave an indelible mark. After Pandya completed his 93 in the first innings of the first Test, all he managed to hit in the next five innings were 26 runs; overall 119 in six innings at an unhealthy average of 19.83.

Well, if you excuse him for his maiden stint outside the subcontinent, his bowling figures will make you rethink. Across six innings, the right-arm medium pacer had bowled 51 overs and took just three wickets at an average of 54.  So much so, for a moment, think, Hardik’s bowling and batting averages could get swapped, how his numbers would have looked? But, hey, good things take time, isn’t it? I do think so.

England fared better for Fashionista Pandya than Africa:

Okay, nevertheless, his numbers got marginally better when India toured England for the five-match Test series. So far, after the conclusion of four hard-fought games, England lead with the 3-1 margin, and not many would disagree, but the difference-makers for the hosts have been their all-rounders, be it star all-rounder Ben Stokes, Sam Curran or Chris Woakes. And here, our decorated Hardik Pandya has gained some Instagram followers, why not, he’s the fashion icon of the side.

However, the gap between the numbers, and more prominently, the impact created by the jacks from both sides are significant. Curran’s lower-order exploits and scalping wickets at crucial junctures broke India’s back in the ongoing series.

Now, if that looks minute, Stokes’ spell on day five of the Edgbaston Test or maybe, Chris Woakes’ maiden Test hundred at Lord’s would convince how the all-rounders turned the tide in this series. And for Pandya, it should be better late than never.

One-off Test success story? No, it doesn’t work in Tests

For Pandya, yes, he did fare amazingly well in the Trent Bridge Test, picking up his maiden five-for and scoring a fifty in the second innings as well, but did nothing impactful across other three Tests.

Now, with the Oval Test to go, and India already losing out on a series in England, what future holds for Hardik Pandya? Would dynamic leader Virat Kohli overlook him, or would he retain his place in the side for the one final game? However, knowing how things shape in Indian cricket, Pandya, most likely, would get an extended run.

Concluding this, with Hardik Pandya scoring 164 runs across eight innings and picking up ten wickets in the meanwhile, as said before, he has helped improve his numbers marginally. However, again, if he fails to get consistent, people would ask, Hardik Pandya, who?