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Cricket PlayersFormer Australia captain points out India star who 'can win the T20 World Cup on his own'
India start their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign with a blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan.
India start off their T20 World Cup campaign with a match against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday at the colossal Melbourne Cricket Ground. India have played 32 T20I matches this year, which stands in stark contrast to the kind of preparation before the 2021 T20 World Cup when they played just eight T20Is before heading into the tournament.
The number of matches played has allowed India to end up with a number of options across the board. However, a player who has proven himself to be almost uniquely unreplaceable in this period has been Hardik Pandya. Since the 2022 Indian Premier League, in which he proved his fitness in addition to captaining Gujarat Titans to the title in their inaugural season itself, Pandya has often won India matches with the ball and with the bat.
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson feels that Pandya is the kind of player who could be the difference and victory and defeat for India. “Hardik Pandya is a talented cricketer. When he's bowling, the way he is paced up at 140s is amazing. He's just got great skill and he's got great ability to take wickets and also defend runs,” Watson told the Times of India.
Pandya had pretty much lost his place in the Indian team last year due to being unable to bowl. A major back injury that he had sustained at the 2018 Asia Cup had led to a domino effect of injury troubles for the 29-year-old and while he is yet to come back into reckoning in Test cricket, Pandya has returned to his best and even surpassed it many a times this year in limited overs matches. He has scored 436 runs at a strike rate of 151.28 in 18 innings this year in T20Is and has also taken 12 wickets in 17 innings.
“His batting just continues to go through the roof. He's not just a finisher, he's a power hitter too. He's got all the skills. We've seen him in the last IPL. He can win the T20 World Cup on his own. He is truly a match-winner,” said Watson.
