Cricket News

‘You Need An Attitude Like Him When You Lose Early Wicket’- Zaheer Khan lauds India’s star player

India and South Africa, recently, locked horns with each other in a five-match T20I series. South Africa won the first two games but India fought back to win the next two matches and, thereby, leveled the series. The fifth match was abandoned due to rain, and, as a result, India and South Africa shared the series.

Players like Ishan Kishan, and Hardik Pandya had enjoyed a great series as India managed a great comeback after losing the first two matches of the series. Hardik Pandya impressed everyone once again as he came up with some good performance with the bat while batting at no. five in this series.

Former Indian pacer, Zaheer Khan also heaped high praises for the all-rounder and his attitude.

“He would ideally want to be playing at number four.” – Zaheer Khan

Speaking in an interview with Cricbuzz, he said that Hardik Pandya needs to bat at number four in the coming days. 

“He would ideally want to be playing at number four. He has a good understanding of what is expected of him by the squad and how he should shape his play. If you lose wickets quickly, especially at number five, he thrives in that kind of pressure-packed environment.” Zaheer Khan said. 

Hardik also enjoyed a great spell with his new franchise, Gujarat, in the Indian T20 League 2022 as he guided them to win the tournament in their maiden attempt.

“Since the start of this Indian T20 League, it has been abundantly clear that he takes pleasure in facing difficult competition. It does not seem like he is in a hurry. Therefore, this is the charm of his current batting performance. This is the portion that I’m looking forward to the most. If you’re a batter, the moment you get the realization that I am in charge and I can change the gears whenever I desire, that’s the moment when you’ll obtain that confidence.” he added.

Former Indian pacer also heaped high praises for his attitude while batting.

He said: “You need an attitude like that when you lose early wickets as a team. Someone who is not only confident in their abilities but also able to take the pressure, which requires them to slow down. Therefore, it would be ideal for the team if he could keep this form and bowl since it would be the most balanced thing they could do. Rahul Dravid and the management of the Indian squad will be quite pleased with the result.“

Hardik Pandya will be in action again, now as the Indian captain, when India will kick off their two-match T20I series, starting on 26 June 2022.