India are not making the most of Hardik Pandya’s batting prowess: Ajay Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja has said that the Indian team could be better served if Hardik Pandya is pushed up the order.

While analysing India’s eight-wicket loss to England in the third T20I in Ahmedabad, Jadeja talked about how Hardik Pandya's destructive prowess with the bat is not being fully utilised by the team. He said in this regard:

“I feel some players are not playing in their ideal positions. For example, I am a big fan of how Hardik Pandya plays his game. When he came out to bat today, look at the England bowlers who had overs left. Archer, Wood, and an over or two of someone else.”

An entertaining 70-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya helps India post 156/6.The 🇮🇳 skipper top-scores with a 46-ball 77* 👏#INDvENG | https://t.co/ijRJxQ94R9 pic.twitter.com/QMH750jQaT

— ICC (@ICC) March 16, 2021

The former player suggested that Hardik Pandya is being tasked with facing the opposition’s best bowlers when he comes in to bat at No. 7. With death-over specialists bowling at the end, Hardik Pandya misses out on feasting against the opposition's weaker bowlers.

Ajay Jadeja feels Hardik Pandya could produce higher returns if he doesn't have to face the opposition’s frontline bowlers.

“There is no team who have five frontline bowlers. You will always have one bowler who's slightly weaker than the others. India need to understand which batsman will give them the maximum returns when they come up against a particular bowler,” said Jadeja.

Hardik Pandya struggled to get going when he came out to bat in the 15th over in the third T20I. The all-rounder failed to up the ante against Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, as he slashed at several deliveries without much success.

Hardik Pandya did strike a couple of lusty blows to finish with a 15-ball 17 after scoring three of his first seven balls. After seeing Hardik Pandya's struggle against Archer and Wood, Ajay Jadeja wonders whether it would have been more prudent for him to have come in when Sam Curran was bowling in middle overs.

“You know the pace at which Hardik Pandya bats when he’s having a good day. You have to think whether you want to up the ante when your batsmen are facing Archer or Wood, or when someone like Jordan or Sam Curran is bowling. That’s why I feel India’s current batting lineup isn’t in their best interest,” concluded Jadeja.

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Hardik Pandya has struggled to get going with the bat this series

.@imVkohli: "Hardik plays for the team at all times and these kinds of players are priceless." 💪#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #INDvENG @hardikpandya7 @BCCI pic.twitter.com/JT83pHcJRB

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 16, 2021

Hardik Pandya has a career strike rate of 143.24 in T20Is. But his strike-rate while playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL is 159.26.

The younger Pandya is a power hitter capable of holding his own and accelerating against some of the best bowlers in the world. But the 27-year-old has failed to fire in the two matches he has batted in this ongoing five-match series against England.

In the first game, Hardik Pandya came in at No. 6 but scored at less than a run-a-ball before perishing to Jofra Archer after scoring a rather sedate 19 runs off 21 balls. It was a similar story in the third T20I, too, as Hardik Pandya struggled to match Virat Kohli's scoring rate in the end overs.

Hardik Pandya has batted up the order for Mumbai Indians to great effect, but that position seems unavailable to him in India’s current T20I setup. With players like Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and also Suryakumar Yadav in the mix, it is unlikely Hardik Pandya would bat up the order for the Indian T20I team any time soon.

The all-rounder has a specific role to perform in India’s T20I side. His job is to finish off games and act as the third seamer in home conditions.

After a couple of disappointments in this ongoing series, Hardik Pandya could be raring to prove a point when India take on England in the fourth T20I on March 18.