Sanjay Manjrekar Reacts To Hardik Pandya's Performance After Saying Allrounder Won't Find A Place In His Team

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has admitted that Hardik Pandya has proved him wrong with his batting performances in the just-concluded three-match ODI series against Australia.

The India allrounder played all the three games of the series as a specialist batsman and delivered. In the first game of the series, he registered his highest ODI score before surpassing it in the third game. Hardik Pandya scored 90 in the first ODI but India ended up losing the game by 66 runs.

In the second game, he scored 28 and also bowled four overs, taking the prized wicket of Steve Smith but India lost that game too and conceded the series. And on Wednesday, the right-handed batsman showed his maturity again and starred with the bat to help India finally register a win in the series.

He scored an unbeaten 92 and shared an unbeaten 150-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja to help India recover from 152 for 5 and post a challenging 302 for 5. India went on to win the game by 13 runs and Hardik Pandya was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Sanjay Manjrekar on Hardik Pandya’s innings:

Sanjay Manjrekar has been facing the heat once again for his recent comment on Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. The outspoken commentator had said that neither Jadeja nor Pandya would make it to his limited-overs team.

“My selection and thoughts are based on a principle that I have learnt over the years: if you have specialists who can walk-in based on one discipline, you fill your team with those players,” Sanjay Manjrekar had told The Hindu.

“I do not have a problem with Jadeja; I have a problem with his kind of cricketers in white-ball cricket. Even Hardik Pandya will not be in my team. They add illusionary value to the team,” he had added.

But after Pandya’s matured display against Australia, Sanjay Manjrekar admitted that he was not skeptical about the allrounder’s batting abilities in ODIs. He took to Twitter to state the same, writing:

“Was skeptical about Hardik the pure batsman in 50 overs cricket. Not anymore.”

Was skeptical about Hardik the pure batsman in 50 overs cricket. Not anymore. ????#AUSvsIND

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 2, 2020

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