Hardik Pandya: The all-rounder India was looking for

The cricketing fraternity knows India for its batting supremacy and skillful spin bowling. For a number of years, these two departments of the game have groomed independently in the Indian standards. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and numerous others were absolute masters in their one particular department. But Hardk Pandya made his mark with the bat against Sri Lanka in the second T20 at Ranchi when he played a magnificent cameo of 27 runs off just 12 balls to power India to a big total. He repeated the show against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup where he hit 31 runs off 18 balls. In the Asia Cup so far he has bagged 6 wickets in 3 matches with the bowl.

The presence of such greats ensured that India hardly ever felt the need for an all-rounder.

For over two decades, the concept of a genuine all-rounder has been missing from the Indian style of play. If one has to rate the best all-rounder from the country, undoubtedly it has to be Kapil Dev. He is by far the best India has ever seen and amongst the very best to have played since the inception of the game. Having 9031 runs and 687 wickets in international cricket, he was a gem of a player.

Since his departure, the Indian team hasn’t had too many quality players fulfilling both aspects of the game, unlike teams like South Africa and New Zealand who always have a flurry of all-rounders. Robin Singh was there for a while, Irfan Pathan looked good initially and Saurav Ganguly could roll his arm over if required.

Recently Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were partially playing that role. But all of them are either proper batsman who can bowl a bit or vice versa.

After the retirements of the legends, India felt the need for an all-rounder. Fortunately, the demand has been met with the inclusion of Hardik Pandya. The youngster from Baroda bowls in the higher 130s and has the ability to demolish the opposition with his power hitting. Hailing from a pretty modest background, his story is nothing short of a fairy tale.

Hardik Pandya’s story thus far

He plays for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and had showed glimpses of what he is capable of. His start to the international cricket has been a tremendous one. Pandya was selected for the tour to Australia as a T20 specialist where he picked up 2 wickets in the very first game and finished with 3 wickets overall in the 3-match series. Though he did not get a chance to bat there, yet he had made a mark with bowling and fielding.

Pandya never hesitates from having a go at the bowler

In Hardik Pandya, India see what we call a genuine all-rounder. The skipper MS Dhoni has shown great confidence in him and has given him the luxury to play 2 spinners, even in seam-friendly conditions. Also with the bat, the pressure of scoring fast in the death overs has been lifted off Dhoni. He has sent Pandya ahead of him on a few occasions and more often than not, he hasn’t disappointed.

Pandya possesses extreme power needed for T20s, he is bowling fast at a decent economy rate and he is quite agile in the field and has taken some good catches. He is doing all that is asked of him which shows that he is a complete package.

Maybe he is not technically that sound to become a hit in test cricket, but with his abilities, he can become a prominent member of the ODI squad too. He can fit in the role of the third pacer and also bat at number 6 or 7 and turn into a finisher that India desperately needs after Dhoni.

He is dynamic and stylish. The exuberance of youth clearly shows from his personality. It would be interesting to see whether he would be able to digest the stardom and continue playing the way he knows. If he does that, India has a definite star all-rounder in the making.