Time ticking for Hardik Pandya

[Ankit_sharma03]

I liked the glimpses of promise he has shown in his short career but I am not going be to a Pandya apologist like  a lot of indian fans are becoming these days just because they want to believe that they found the next kapil dev.

Well atleast while bowling parttimers like Yuvi or Raina the captain can hide them when the game is on cruise control or when he can get quick overs out of them when the opposition is a little under pressure.

Pandya has been our weak link with the ball in the last few games....yeah he has a knack of picking up the odd wicket per game but he is clearly the most hittable of all our bowlers raina and Yuvraj .

He has struggled on pitches that have offered something for seamers or spinners with the bat.....yeah as a fielder he definitely is one of the best out there.

i think given the conditions and the way pitches have behaved so far, it's time we went with Bhajji instead of Pandya....I don't think given the situations pandya bats in Bhajji won't do way worse Infact gives that much more assurance.

i am not saying dump him for good... Give him a long rope and keep him around in the scheme of things for a while ,while he works on his game but right now don't think he has done enough to walk into the starting line up of every single game.

I think he is probably the most dispensable member of the X1 right now and personally I feel more comfortable with bhajji in the line up with the bat or ball instead of Pandya atleast for this tournament. 

Really ????? time Ticking?????ru kidding me

Arent u te same guy who wanted rohit to be given 7 more test at watever position he wants, des[ite having 21 avg in last 14 test.

Why is a newcomer being made a scapegoat when guys like dhawan, rohit, raina has performed in very few games in last 10 games, n most imp been irresponsible. 

Has he even have  proper run.

Lets not forget he was leg spinner 2-3 yrs ago n he turned into a medium pace bolwer, not an easy transition. M repeating againn the guy just had 13 fc games exp. Guys like rishi, binny, jadeja had yrs of domestic exp, yet all have been whacked . Judging his skills on pitches that are spinner frendly is unfair. Also about asia cup pitches, well he is seam bowler m sure binny wud have been more effective on those pitches but is that a long terms solution. We cant stand binny,rishi n other now we dnt have patience for hardik , so wat do we want. 

Pandya wud definately be a weak link on such pitches as bowler but thats were he needs to be used smartly. Raina n yuvi didnt become dependable bowler in their 1st yrs. Dhoni still doesnt rely on them . Obv they ll look better due to surfaces. Have we forgotten that even yuvraj singh got whacked for 5 sixes in over by dimitri and Sir jadeja was also hit around for 5 sixes in over by warner, did we loose patience on them. M sure ppl on icf wud have, guess wat now sir jadeja bowls better in overseas than ashwin n yuvi bowling help us won 2011 wc.

N how is he gonna work on his game sitting on his bench, he already lacks domestic exp. Pandya one or two over wnt cost us the game. If whole team doesnt play well it will. IF same is the criteria what is dhawan, rohit , raina doing in this squad. M raising a point to take pandya to WI tets series so he bowls around 70-80 over in a test series n gains more control , whereas i knw binny wud do better but we need pandya in long run.

Forgot sake its t20, guys wud be whacked around. Even ashwin, bumrah , nehra has given runs. Lets not be harsh on someone who is not a complete bowler and he contributes with batting n fielding. Bowlers all around the world give runs in t20. Lets not make him a scapegoat. 

Playing bhajji instead of him, bhajji was there in bang n sl test series where ashwin was unplayble and this guy was struggling to get wkts. Ok he might bowl well but can he play innings like mirpur n ranchi, no he cant. Can he be an asset in field like Pandya no he cant. 

M saying this again Pandya is an X factor for this batting lineup which is filled with unreilable ppl, coz there wud be game were he can turn the game on his head as batsman. Even bhajji can be expensive as bowler but he cnt play an innigs like him, he has ability but not like pandya. N one more aspect which cannot be judged in stats is fielding, his one save in aus won us the last t20 game. 

 

[tweaker]

Pandya has shown lot of talent in his career so far.Inspite of bowling being his weak link ,he is almost among wickets.We should persist with him & we should drop seniors who have not improved inspite of playing international cricket for so many years.The selectors have erred in selecting Harbhajan, Negi,Rahane in the squad.

[Stuge]

He should be selected based on conditions .He is not fit of Indian pitches .With poor selection ,sooner or.later he will be dropped permanently

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[Lannister]

I've yet to see the so called batting skills of his apart from that one-off innings against the hapless Srilankans. The way he plays cross-shot against leg spinners and as a result gets clean bowled, suggests to me he neither has a technique nor temperament to survive when facing against a quality opposition.

As for his bowling is concerned, it's really good to see that he's capable of bowling at a very good pace (something that you rarely see in Indian bowlers), but alas India is not a place to afford to play 3 pacers in the team. I'd rather go with an extra batsman, but, yes, as of now he brings nothing of value to the team. 

Edited March 22, 2016 by Lannister

[The Realist]

Pandya needs more time as he's still raw & young. Still plenty of upsides with him.

However the biggest imposter in this this team is Raina. Now in his 30s he has regressed with age. Cant play pace or spin & whatever technique he had is shot. Has to be getting picked due to being a friend of Dhoni as based on merit he should be dropped.

[bihutoli]

Not a proper bat, and a really loose bowler. He seems to be a faster bowling version of Yusuf Pathan. Does not look promising at all imho. He along with Dhawan and Raina are free riding the coattails of Kohli big time in our current setup.

Edited March 22, 2016 by bihutoli

[CG]

Not to forget Pandya is India Best fielder after jadeja.

[tweaker]

Some players are still hopeless after playing for many years & Pandya has just started out.He is always among wickets & has 2-3 match winning knocks .I really think we should persist with him for longer period instead of going back to Binny.

[sandeep]

and you are saying this based on what????

Dude, check his batting performances at the domestic level - he completely bossed the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.  Scoring at close to 200% strike rate, and putting up consistent good scores, even if wickets fell all around him.  To say Bhajji is equally good is pure ignorance.  Granted, that's at domestic level, but still consistent lower order batsmen who can hit the big shot right away are hard to find, and he's earned the right for an extended audition.  You have to keep in mind, the guy is a batting allrounder, not a bowling one.  Bhajji's batting is useful, but he's nowhere in Pandya's league.  

If you look at him as a bowling allrounder, then yeah his bowling is not good enough.  Crucially though, he's a yard quicker than the Sanjay Bangars and Stuart Binnys of the world, so with a bit of experience and training at the higher level, can possibly develop into a better bowler.  

And yes, he's not set the world alight, has had a couple of failures in the last few games.  But let's not be overly harsh or impatient.  Even in the Kiwi game, he was playing with the right approach - did not throw his wicket mindlessly or play a poor shot - was given out legbefore that would have been overturned in DRS.  He got rapped on the pads by a quicker ball, credit to the bowler a bit.  But the batting tactics were right, so thats a good sign.  Its still early days, and it may well turn out that he can't be as effective against international class bowling as he is in IPL and domestic level, but he's definitely earned an audition for 5-7 games.  

After 2 good innings where he hit a few sixes to cow corner, there were posts on ICF anointing him the savior of Indian cricket, and after a couple of failures, time is ticking.   Thank God, the selectors are not like ICF posters (or PCB selectors for that matter).  

[speedster]

He seems to be the best of the seamer-batsman allrounder combination. Looks leagues better than either Rishi Dhawan or Mr. Langer. We do need a seamer bowler / lower order hitter player in the XI. I would definitely keep him in the team. Should be picked for ODIs too. Calls for some patience here. Lets also not forget his athletic fielding. 

Exactly seems the best of the options available, crucially has the raw ingredients for making a decent all-rounder. One example that comes to mind is that of Andrew Flintoff who struggled in Internationals initially after showing some promise at the county level. Not saying that Pandya will reach Flintoff's level but he shows promise which seam bowling allrounders from our domestic cricket rarely do.

[maniac]

We are becoming big time Pandya apologists

Right now the biggest argument in his favor seems that he is better than Rishi dhawan and Stuart Binny....fair enough but do we have to play an allrounder just for the sake of it?

Yes he is a terrific athlete and a worldclass fielder but then again most of the Ipl generation youngsters are.

His batting nor bowling gives me assurance....I like my allrounder to give me assurance in one dept atleast.

lets take examples of allrounders in other teams

Pakistan-Afridi- obviously exception to the rule but again he is their strike spin bowler, don't think he will play as a batsman alone.....if injured will be replaced by a spinner.

Australia-Watson- if he can't bowl is good enough to play as a batsman alone.

Marsh and Faulkner- if they can't bowl will not be played as batsmen but will be replaced by a bowler.

Newzealand- Anderson-good enough to play as a pure batsman

Right now can't put my finger yet on what are his core skills.

I don't think WT20 is the right forum to groom a player....yeah give him some chances to shine in the weaker games but can't afford a free ride in crunch games.

 

 

 

[maniac]

We are becoming big time Pandya apologists

Right now the biggest argument in his favor seems that he is better than Rishi dhawan and Stuart Binny....fair enough but do we have to play an allrounder just for the sake of it?

Yes he is a terrific athlete and a worldclass fielder but then again most of the Ipl generation youngsters are.

His batting nor bowling gives me assurance....I like my allrounder to give me assurance in one dept atleast.

lets take examples of allrounders in other teams

Pakistan-Afridi- obviously exception to the rule but again he is their strike spin bowler, don't think he will play as a batsman alone.....if injured will be replaced by a spinner.

Australia-Watson- if he can't bowl is good enough to play as a batsman alone.

Marsh and Faulkner- if they can't bowl will not be played as batsmen but will be replaced by a bowler.

Newzealand- Anderson-good enough to play as a pure batsman

Right now can't put my finger yet on what are his core skills.

I don't think WT20 is the right forum to groom a player....yeah give him some chances to shine in the weaker games but can't afford a free ride in crunch games.

 

 

 

[maniac]

We are becoming big time Pandya apologists

Right now the biggest argument in his favor seems that he is better than Rishi dhawan and Stuart Binny....fair enough but do we have to play an allrounder just for the sake of it?

Yes he is a terrific athlete and a worldclass fielder but then again most of the Ipl generation youngsters are.

His batting nor bowling gives me assurance....I like my allrounder to give me assurance in one dept atleast.

lets take examples of allrounders in other teams

Pakistan-Afridi- obviously exception to the rule but again he is their strike spin bowler, don't think he will play as a batsman alone.....if injured will be replaced by a spinner.

Australia-Watson- if he can't bowl is good enough to play as a batsman alone.

Marsh and Faulkner- if they can't bowl will not be played as batsmen but will be replaced by a bowler.

Newzealand- Anderson-good enough to play as a pure batsman

Right now can't put my finger yet on what are his core skills.

I don't think WT20 is the right forum to groom a player....yeah give him some chances to shine in the weaker games but can't afford a free ride in crunch games.

 

 

 

We are becoming big time Pandya apologists

Right now the biggest argument in his favor seems that he is better than Rishi dhawan and Stuart Binny....fair enough but do we have to play an allrounder just for the sake of it?

Yes he is a terrific athlete and a worldclass fielder but then again most of the Ipl generation youngsters are.

His batting nor bowling gives me assurance....I like my allrounder to give me assurance in one dept atleast.

lets take examples of allrounders in other teams

Pakistan-Afridi- obviously exception to the rule but again he is their strike spin bowler, don't think he will play as a batsman alone.....if injured will be replaced by a spinner.

Australia-Watson- if he can't bowl is good enough to play as a batsman alone.

Marsh and Faulkner- if they can't bowl will not be played as batsmen but will be replaced by a bowler.

Newzealand- Anderson-good enough to play as a pure batsman

Right now can't put my finger yet on what are his core skills.

I don't think WT20 is the right forum to groom a player....yeah give him some chances to shine in the weaker games but can't afford a free ride in crunch games.

 

 

 

[sandeep]

So you'd rather play Bhajji as the 5th bowler, inspite of having Yuvi and Raina in the side as 2 extra bowling options already?  Just to meet some arbitrary "assurance" requirement in one department.  Team balance is something to consider as well.  5 spinners and 2 seamers are over-kill in T20, and you can always use batting depth given that Jadeja is not that effective with the bat at international level.  Even Ashwin, inspite of his batting skill, is more useful in tests and maybe ODI, not T20.  

Going by your suggestion, we are increasing dependence and pressure on the top 3 even more than it already is.  Besides, with Dhoni's slowly fading hitting skills, Yuvi's age and Raina's slump, we desperately some power hitting in middle order.   Pandya has not shown international class allround abilities *yet*  - but he fits the team needs and has done well enough to earn the spot.  And saying so doesn't make one an apologist.  

[Yoda-esque]

Let's replace Hardik with Akhilesh,heard he's a gun player

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[zen]

So you'd rather play Bhajji as the 5th bowler, inspite of having Yuvi and Raina in the side as 2 extra bowling options already?  

They are not regular spinners though. On some pitches you require regular bowlers  

If you count Yuvi and Raina has bowlers, inversely the likes of Bhajji, Ashwin and Jadeja can be counted as batsmen too 

In the name of "balance" (which imo is a way to play some players irrespective of current form), tomorrow we may play Mann, Dhawan and Binny instead of Yuvi, Raina and Pandya .... Mann, Dhawan and Binny can bat and bowl too fulfiling the 5th bowler quota on paper .... But that would not necessarily make the team stronger 

Selection should depend up on horses for courses and form 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sandeep]

They are not regular spinners though. On some pitches you require regular bowlers  

If you count Yuvi and Raina has bowlers, inversely the likes of Bhajji, Ashwin and Jadeja can be counted as batsmen too 

In the name of "balance" (which imo is a way to play some players irrespective of current form), tomorrow we may play Mann, Dhawan and Binny instead of Yuvi, Raina and Pandya .... Mann, Dhawan and Binny can bat and bowl too fulfiling the 5th bowler quota on paper .... But that would not necessarily make the team stronger 

Selection should depend up on horses for courses and form 

 

Sure, they are not regular, but you already have 2 "regular" spinners in the team, and 4 primary bowlers.  And especially If your bowlers can't be relied on with the bat, you can't play 5 bowlers in a T20!  Need I remind you, all our recent T20 losses have been due to batting failures, not bowling.  

First of all, Arguably,  Pandya has earned a spot in the middle order purely as a batsman because he is a power hitter, in form, and has put up strong performances in Indian conditions.  Entire ICF was moaning and groaning for power hitting options in desperation before Pandya debuted, and not without reason.  And its not like Pandya's done nothing with the bat since debut - I mean, what do you want, him to give ABDV type performances all the time?  

Second, I don't understand why people are under-rating the flexibility that Pandya's bowling offers a team and its captain - look at him as a batsman who can bowl a couple of overs.  Yeah, we want to control the middle overs in T20 with spinners, but if the opposition sends in a guy who's strong against spin, but is not as effective against short of length nippy stuff, you have that option with Pandya to mix it up for an over.  If you don't have him in the team, then you have to burn an over of either Bumrah/Nehra which could open us up in the last 4 overs.   

 

[rkt.india]

Giving games is important for player development. He has already played two match changing innings in a very short span when team needed. He isn't going to be Kohli or Dhoni in consistency because that is not his job at this point. People forgetting, we were used to play with four bowlers and likes of Yuvraj and Raina bowled 5th bowlers quota. Pandya is 3rd addition. These three combined needs bowl 4 overs which should not be difficult. Our main issue is Ashwin and Jadeja not bowling that well, not Pandya. Who said he bowled badly in Asia cup, please check the stats and he bowled well enough.

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[zen]

Sure, they are not regular, but you already have 2 "regular" spinners in the team, and 4 primary bowlers.  And especially If your bowlers can't be relied on with the bat, you can't play 5 bowlers in a T20!  Need I remind you, all our recent T20 losses have been due to batting failures, not bowling.  

  

On many pitches, you could need 5 primary bowlers. So there is no such rule that if you play 4 primary bowlers + other overs should be bowled by batsmen who can bowl too .... And if a team selects the correct batsmen based on form, there is no need to worry about everyone having to bat in every game. Tell me what is the avg number of wkts that fall in T20s and how many overs on avg do #7 to # 11 bat 

Also, playing more batsmen who are struggling does not make a batting line up stronger. Remove Kohli and Rohit, and if you even play 7 batsmen, the line up may not have the same impact 

2-3 batsmen on the day can do the job, but a team needs at least 5 bowlers (and at times more) to be effective. The thinking that play xyz as he can do this too or abc he can do that is not foolproof .... A team should start out by selecting 5 best bowlers and 5 best batsmen (+1 WK), and then make the necessary adjustments if required based on horses for courses and form

On Pandya, the OP has already accepted that if he offers flexibility so that is not being discussed anymore. The point probably is that Pandya should not be played for the sake for playing him and in an important tournament like WT20 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2016 by rett

[sandeep]

On many pitches, you could need 5 primary bowlers. So there is no such rule that if you play 4 primary bowlers + others overs should be bowled by batsmen who can bowl too  

Also, playing more batsmen who are struggling does not make a batting line up stronger. Remove Kohli and Rohit, and if you even play 7 batsmen, the line up may not have the same impact 

2-3 batsmen on the day can do the job, but a team needs at least 5 bowlers (and at times more) to be effective. The thinking that play xyz as he can do this too or abc he can do that is not foolproof. A team should start out by selecting 5 best bowlers and 5 best batsmen (+1 WK), and then make the necessary adjustments if required based on horses for courses and form

On Pandya, the OP has already accepted that if he offers flexibility so that is not being discussed anymore. The point probably is that Pandya should not be played for the sake for what many of the arguments suggest and in an important tournament like WT20 

 

 

Agree, that adding another struggling batsman is not the solution - but you can't say Pandya is struggling - he got a roughie against NZ the last time he batted.  He didnt look that good against Pak or Bongles in the Asia cup - but looked a million $$ playing in India against SL.  Apparently he is batting well enough that you have suggested multiple times to open with him.  

 

But I do not agree that you can win with 5 primary bowlers - unless you can count on at least one or two to be a reliable batsman.  Shortening the batting lineup is not the way to go in T20.  We can agree to disagree and leave it at that - no point going back and forth.