The former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has lavished praise on Hardik Pandya, saying that the Indian all-rounder’s game has improved vastly since assuming the leadership role.
Pandya, who promoted himself up the order and playing at No. 4 in the Gujarat Titans batting order, has scored 308 runs in seven innings with a strike rate of 135.68.
Harbhajan said the Gujarat Titans captain has a great batting technique and is far better than many players at this point.
“Hardik has a great technique. He can be a proper batsman. But we hadn’t seen him in this role until now. He usually used to come down the order and smash big hits,” Harbhajan told Sportskeeda.
“Now, he had the opportunity to come to bat with 17-18 overs remaining in the innings, and he has looked like a top-class batsman. I don’t want to compare him to anybody but overall, he has been better than many other great batters at the moment,” he added.
The hard-hitting batter Hardik Pandya is currently the third-highest run-getter in the ongoing IPL. He is just behind KL Rahul (374), and Jos Buttler (566).
Pandya is the fourth-highest run-scorer in the tournament behind Shikhar Dhawan (307), KL Rahul (374), and Jos Buttler (499).
The all-rounder has not represented India in an international match since the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in November of last year. The selectors after seeing his current form will surely consider him for a spot in the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Harbhajan expressed that Pandya is ready for the selection and he must bat at top of the order for the Indian team.
“I would want Hardik to have such changes in the Indian team as well. You can have someone else as a finisher. If you have such solid players at number 3-4, you don’t need to send him down the order,” Harbhajan said.
“Even with the ball, he has been outstanding. He is putting up his case for selection,” he added.
The Hardik Pandya-led side Gujarat Titans registered their eighth win of the season in nine matches and are currently at the top of the points table.
