'It was a wildcard. Not only did they pick him, they backed him as marquee player': Manjrekar on India star's resurgence

From Rishabh Pant's counter attack in the Edgbaston Test, to the spectacular 133-run partnership between him and Hardik Pandya in the final ODI at Manchester, the series saw some memorable performances from the Indian players.

Team India were on a steamroll in their recently-concluded tour in England. Be it the rescheduled Test, which the India lost despite dominating the proceedings, or the following white-ball series, the tourists ensured they were always on top of their game. From Rishabh Pant's counter attack in the Edgbaston Test, to the spectacular 133-run partnership between him and Hardik Pandya in the final ODI at Manchester, the series saw some memorable performances from the Indian players.

Team India players in action (BCCI Twitter)

While it was a memorable outing for Pant, the series also proved to be a good one for Pandya. The all-rounder excelled in both the departments of the game and scalped six wickets in the three ODIs. The final ODI saw the 28-year-old all-rounder complete his best figures in ODIs, which is 4/24 in 7 overs, and he was equally good with the bat, smashing 71 in just 55 balls.

Ever since the dream show, several ex-cricketers have lauded Pandya for the remarkable show he has produced since returning to the scene after a back injury. Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar is one of them as he noted Pandya to be “completely changed guy”.

Highlighting Pandya's stellar show with Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, to the recent tours of Ireland and England, Manjrekar in an interaction on SPORTS18 said he now finds Pandya more "mature" and "ambitious".

“Hardik Pandya is a completely changed guy. It was a wildcard that the franchise played. First of all, picking him as one of their first players, before that his fitness was a problem, his batting was an issue for the earlier franchise. Not only did they pick him, and back him as one of their marquee players they gave him the captaincy. Just the way the league turned out for him. Hardik Pandya is a changed man now, there’s a lot of maturity, responsibility and ambition as well. I see a sense of ambition coming into him. And once you have that, wanting to grow within Indian Cricket then there’s tremendous motivation. He’s also addressing himself in third person now. Hardik Pandya has arrived,” he said.

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Manjrekar also shared his views on the match-winning performances by Pant and Pandya in the final ODI. The duo build the innings after India were reduced to 72/4 in a challenging 260-run chase. The partnership ensured India secure the match comfortably as Pant also notched his maiden ODI ton in the process.

“Yes, just hoping that Hardik can keep his fitness together. No issues about Rishabh Pant. What we saw in that last one day, I was completely floored by the sheer talent and ability of these two guys, temperament as well, built a long partnership and how easily, in the end, India won. Thanks to Rishabh Pant for staying there till the end. So yes, high-quality batters, and they’re going to be batting mostly at number 4 and 5 whether it’s T20 Cricket or 50 overs cricket or Pant could be opening as well. In 2019, we had a lot of issues finding a proper middle order but now we have some quality supply," he added.