Cricket News: Should Hardik Pandya be played less before the World Cup?

The Indian team fired well in all departments, but all-rounder Hardik Pandya was a delight to watch with ball and bat both. This performance in international cricket announced his staggering comeback after IPL 2022. 

His performance on English soil of 6 wickets in three games, especially in the decisive ODI to take four wickets for 24 runs in seven overs, earned applause from many amongst the cricket fraternity. On his YouTube channel, Shoaib Akhtar said, "I was happy to see Hardik Pandya perform as a bowler as he brings an incredible balance to the team. I am also delighted that he has become serious about his fitness. He is a very good batter as he played very later, and the number of compact shots that he has, I don't have any doubt that he will become one of the best all-rounders in the world."  

While his performance after a two-year long break came as a solid reply to the critics, his involvement in ODI cricket is surrounded by a scare of injury like in previous times. Despite him being in good form, some former cricketers believe that the all-rounder should be utilised carefully, keeping in mind the upcoming T20 World Cup. India should not risk their in-form all-rounder by making him play ODI or Test cricket for the next few months and help him achieve more consistency for the T20 series. 

Former coach Ravi Shastri on Star Sports quoted, "He has had ample rest and he will continue to have ample rest because that's the only format he should play going into the World Cup. They shouldn't take the risk of making him play ODI cricket."  

India should be cautious as they already have many star players struggling with injuries like Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav. Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar also left the red-ball format because he was also going through a rough patch of injuries and wanted to focus and play for the T20 world cup. Since then, he has been able to deliver at the place he wanted to without getting injured.

After recovering from a two-year long break due to injury and making a solid comeback, the last thing that BCCI and Team India would want is their star all-rounder Hardik Pandya getting another injury before the T20 World Cup. Rested from the ODI series against West Indies, he will return to the squad for the five-match T20I series against Caribbeans. 

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