IND v AUS 2020: 'In terms of ability, Hardik Pandya is probably the best in the world at his position' - Sehwag

Former Indian captain Virender Sehwag has opined that Hardik Pandya is currently the best player in the world at the position he bats at in white-ball cricket.

He made this observation while talking about the big-hitting all-rounder's match-winning knock in the 2nd T20I against Australia on the Sony Sports network.

After Hardik Pandya smashed his highest T20I score in India's win against Australia, Virender Sehwag was asked if the Mumbai Indians player is likely to better that record shortly.

He responded that it will not be long before Hardik Pandya goes one better as he could even get opportunities to bat higher up the order.

"There will be a lot of circumstances where he will get a chance to bat up the order. He may even come to bat at No.4 after Virat Kohli. There he will get the opportunity to make his highest score. Whenever he plays in India, he might break it in the next match he plays."

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Virender Sehwag on MS Dhoni's influence on Hardik Pandya's game

Hardik Pandya has batted alongside MS Dhoni on many occasions

While terming Hardik Pandya as an amazing player, Virender Sehwag expressed happiness that the big-hitter played cricket alongside MS Dhoni.

"He is an amazing player. I am very happy because Hardik Pandya has spent time with MS Dhoni, he has played a lot of cricket with him. So he would have learnt a lot from him."

He observed that MS Dhoni is the best person to learn the nuances of finishing a game from.

"Because it was necessary that when MS Dhoni was there, I always used to say that players who are there around him should learn from him how a match is finished or taken to the end."

The former Indian opener recalled that Ravindra Jadeja also recently credited his Chennai Super Kings skipper for teaching him how to take the game deep and make the best use of the last few overs.

"Jadeja had also said that MS Dhoni has told him to take the match to the last three overs, so that you have more opportunities to score more runs and finish the match."

Virender Sehwag pointed out that Hardik Pandya will also have a similar opinion if he is asked the same question. The Nawab of Najafgarh signed off by proclaiming Hardik Pandya as the best finisher in world cricket currently.

"If you ask Hardik Pandya, he will also say the same thing that he has learnt a lot from MS Dhoni. But if you talk about ability, at present there is probably no one better than Hardik Pandya at this number in world cricket."

Hardik Pandya has been in breathtaking form in the last few months. He was one of the star performers for the Mumbai Indians during their title-winning run in IPL 2020.

He has carried on the good form in the limited-overs series against Australia. The 27-year-old has won India a couple of matches on his own, and has achieved his career-best scores in both the white-ball versions of the game.

.@hardikpandya7, with an average of nearly 90, has emerged as India's go to batsman in white ball cricket, behind @imVkohli. Time is ripe for Hardik to be added to the Test squad, in this red hot form worth holding him back in Australia

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) December 6, 2020