How much is Hardik Pandya important to India’s World Cup plans?

The Indian team is left with 13 ODIs to play before they take on South Africa in their first World Cup match. Post the loss in the Champions Trophy final, the selectors have been trying to fix the anagrams regarding the balance and combination of the side. After the axing of Yuvraj Singh, most of the spotlight had been on the vacant number four position. Although Ambati Rayudu has almost sealed that spot, some bowling hitches still need to be solved.

With Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the two wrist spinners performing well against every opposition, winning three out of four ODI series in 2018, the bowling department hasn’t been in much of contemplation. The solitary limited overs series loss came against England, where Jasprit Bumrah was injured and Bhuvneshwar participated only in the third ODI. It was then the dearth of proper pace bowling back-up was recognized. Since then a number of pacers have been tried but nobody has yet cemented his place in the side.

While India’s top order looks settled, it’s the lower middle-order which has been chopped and changed a number of times. It was only when Bhuvneshwar came to bat at number 7 in the third ODI against the Windies, the compulsory inclusion of an all-rounder in the side was identified.

Ravindra Jadeja was called as a replacement for the injured Hardik Pandya in the Asia Cup and he hadn’t put a foot wrong since. Both the Gujarati all-rounders play the role of a finisher, can give their quota of overs, and are razor sharp in the field. The only differentiating factor is that one is a seam bowler while the other is a spinner.

So why is Hardik Pandya an indispensable asset to India’s limited overs team?

Although India have had success with Jadeja since his comeback, it’s his spin bowling characteristic which seems to be the reason for dropping of Yuzvendra Chahal from the playing eleven against Windies and Australia. As the Asia Cup was held in UAE, having three quality spinners in the team was always an added advantage. But, the series against Windies and Australia were played on lively pitches and the management decided to include a third seamer. And ever since then Khaleel has replaced Chahal in the eleven.

In all likelihood, Ravindra Jadeja or Krunal Pandya will be the second choice all-rounder. Given that the World Cup will be in England, a third seam bowler will be a necessity. So, if Hardik gets injured or is unavailable, Kohli not only have to replace Hardik with another all-rounder, but a spinner will be axed to bring in a third seamer. Thus, the Indian captain could find himself in a very unfortunate dilemma. Vijay Shankar, Rishi Dhawan and Deepak Chahar were given opportunities in the past, but none of them gave any comforting performance.

India has been served with an invaluable bowler in Kedar Jadhav. His 22 wickets at an economy of less than 5 makes him imperative in the ODI setup. Hardik made his debut with Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina in the team. And now with no batsman in the top five giving any overs, Jadhav along with Pandya will form India’s fifth bowler.

With the IPL to be organized before the World Cup, the management should be wary about Hardik and Kedar’s fitness. Going into the tournament, any injury to his key players will be the last thing Kohli would want to deal with.