Hardik Pandya can take the game away in whiff of breath – Dinesh Karthik backs all-rounder to deliver in T20 World Cup

Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has put his weight behind Hardik Pandya to deliver the goods in the T20 World Cup, which will take place in Oman and UAE.

Pandya has the skills to deliver with both bat as well as the ball and he is going to play an instrumental role for the Indian team in the T20I showpiece.

Pandya has shown the skills to add the finishing touches in the shortest format of the game while batting at number six. Furthermore, the all-rounder can also do a fine job with the ball as he can vary his pace.

Pandya is known to hit the ground running and he can clear the ropes consistently. However, the all-rounder wasn’t in the best of forms in the recent limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.

Pandya scored 19 runs in the two innings in the three-match ODI series against the Island nation. The right-arm pacer bowled five overs in the opening ODI and went wicketless. Furthermore, Pandya conceded his runs at an economy rate of 6.92 and bowled with an average of 48.50 in the ODI series.

The right-hander from Baroda, scored 10 runs in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Moreover, he wasn’t in the best of forms in the first leg of the IPL while playing for Mumbai Indians.

“Hardik Pandya bats at No 6, he has a job to do every time he comes in, he has the potential to take the game away in the whiff of a breath, that’s how good he is,” Karthik said on Star Sports show Game Plan.

“With the ball, he is very good with it, he is very handy, he can bowl at 85-87 mph, but also mix in the slower ones.

“Over the period of time, he has shown the mind what’s between your ears they say to be very strong, very calculated and he is somebody who can come and deliver on slow wickets very well, and that’s one of his strengths, so I am looking forward to him as a gun fielder as well,” added Karthik.

Meanwhile, India last won the T20 World Cup back in 2007 and it has been 14 years since the team has savoured success in the marquee tournament. Karthik, who has impressed in the commentary box, added that India has the team to go all the way in the tourney.

“I think it is 14 years that have gone by it’s very interesting to know that it has been that long I think that also means 14 seasons of IPL, so basically, we have a lot of T20 experience in that team.

“Every guy there has played 150, if not 200 T20 matches, which should give them enough data to take from every time they had a big moment, and that’s what you require; experience to handle those big moments and hence I have no doubt that they will qualify to the semi-finals,” said Karthik.
“I think India has it in them overall. Fingers crossed, they go all the way.”

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on 24th October at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.