Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2016: T20I All-rounder of the Year

#3 Hardik Pandya (India)

Pandya has been one of the finds of the year for India

India have had a couple of finds this year, in terms of young fast bowlers who have come to the fore, and Hardik Pandya, in popular opinion seems to be the most valuable prodigy. That is been more because he can bat and bowl, and less because he has been exceptionally brilliant.

This is not to say that he hasn't been any good. He has been good, but only in parts. However, 16 wickets from 15 T20I matches at an average of 24.00 compensate his meagre tally of 78 runs at 11.14 to a large extent.

Looking beyond the numbers, the impact that he has created on matches is perhaps what makes people rate him so highly. His performance of 3/8 against Pakistan in the crucial Aisa Cup tie from 3.3 overs helped India execute the 83-run mockery of their arch rivals and give their Asia Cup campaign the much-needed initial boost.

Pandya returned to the limelight during the crucial stages of the World T20 with two-wickets each against Bangladesh – a match that India won only by a run – and against Australia – which was virtually a quarter-final – to seize the key moments in India's favour.

These big-match performances coupled with his nationality are the reasons why a whopping 35% of our fans believe that he must be given the all-rounder of the year award. However, in this author's humble opinion, that shouldn't be the case. The next two slides would explain why.