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'He is the most valuable T20 cricketer in world right now': Brad Hogg sings praises of 28-year-old India star
Former Australia leg-spinner Brad Hogg took to his YouTube channel to reflect on some players he was impressed by in the last month of international cricket, one of which is India's star 28-year-old cricketer.
Former Australia leg-spinner Brad Hogg took to his YouTube channel to reflect on some players he was impressed by in the last month of international cricket. Hogg, who represented Australia and the Rajasthan Royals in T20 matches as an early pioneer of the qualities of leg-spin in the shortest format, now has a YouTube platform with over 130,000 subscribers with whom he shares his thoughts regarding cricket in a series called 'Hogg's Vlogs'.
In a recent video, he said that "Players who have really impressed me over the last month, that really love those pressure situations, are Daryl Mitchell from New Zealand, and Hardik Pandya from India." Pandya has enjoyed a highly successful series against South Africa this month, averaging 58.50 with the bat while also striking at above 150. Hogg is the latest in a line of praise for Pandya's whose mature performances have added a new element to his game.
"He wants those tough moments when his team's back is against the wall, he wants to go out there and deliver, whether it's with bat or ball. He is adaptable: the other night he came into those final overs and was able to find the boundary from ball one. Not many people can do that. And he can go up and do a job at the top of the order if they lose early wickets as well," Hogg said.
Pandya took a memorable 3/17 in the IPL final, a tournament in which he batted at number 4, bowled regularly, and also captained his team in its first-ever IPL season, leading them to the IPL trophy and receiving many plaudits. In the fourth T20I against South Africa, Pandya came in on a slow pitch where Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant struggled, but ensured he got his eye in before taking the attack to the Proteas alongside Dinesh Karthik, taking India to 169 and ensuring a huge 82-run victory to level the series.
Hogg believes that Pandya's ability and willingness to carry his team through tricky situations makes him the perfect character to captain a T20 team, and India’s leadership agrees with him, awarding Pandya the captaincy of the T20I team touring Ireland later this month. Given the form he is in, Pandya will also likely be a fixture of the forthcoming series against England, as well as in the Asia Cup and then in the T20 World Cup in Australia, by which time he could become an undroppable member of the squad.
"He is the most valuable T20 cricketer going around in world cricket right now. Hardik Pandya should be captain of this T20 team in front of Rahul," Hogg pointed out.
