T20 World Cup 2021 | Can't create overnight what Hardik brings at No.6, states Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has backed Hardik Pandya to play a key role as a finisher at the T20 World Cup 2021. Ahead of the team’s first match against Pakistan on Sunday, Kohli said that Hardik’s physical condition is getting better, and he could be able to bowl at least two overs at some stage in the tournament.
India’s team balance has been quite a topic of discussion heading into the T20 World Cup 2021, with uncertainty over Hardik Pandya’s bowling. The all-rounder didn’t bowl a single ball at the recently concluded IPL, due to a long-standing back issue.
His batting form hasn’t been encouraging either, as he managed mere 127 runs in 11 innings in IPL 2021. Skipper Virat Kohli however, spoke highly of Hardik’s exploits in the lower-middle order from the past, which he feels is more valuable to the team than his bowling. He also indicated that the 28-year-old could be ready to bowl at least two overs at some point in the tournament.
"Honestly, I feel that Hardik presently with his physical condition is getting better in terms of being prepared to bowl at least two overs for us at a certain stage in this tournament," Kohli said on the eve of India's Super 12s clash against Pakistan in Dubai.Â
"We strongly feel that we can make the most of the opportunity at hand till the time he starts bowling, we've considered a couple of other options to chip in for an over or two. So, we're not bothered about that at all.”
Kohli had himself bowled two overs in the team’s warm-up match against Australia earlier this week, which indicated that he’d play the role of a part-timer, should the need arise. If that does fall into place, India can possibly afford to give Hardik some more time for being bowling-fit.
"What he brings at that No.6 spot is something you cannot create overnight," Kohli added. "Hence, I was always in favour of backing him in Australia as a batter purely and we saw what he did in the T20 series and how he can take the game away from the opposition when he is in full flow.
"So these things from a talking or discussion point of view seem very interesting that if he doesn't bowl, will he be left out, but we understand the value he brings to the team as a No.6 batter and in world cricket, if you look around, there are specialists who do that job and it's very important to have that guy, especially in T20 cricket who can play an impact innings at that stage. Even when the chips are down, he's someone who can play a long innings in that way.
"So, for us that is way more valuable than forcing him to do something he's not ready for at the moment. But he's motivated and very keen to start giving us a couple of overs and when that happens, obviously the balance becomes even better, but we're pretty confident how we're heading into the start of this tournament."
Kohli also expected the pitches in the UAE to be much more suitable for batting, than they were during the IPL.
"I believe the quality of pitches is definitely going to be far better in this T20 World Cup,” he said. “Also, it being an ICC tournament, we know that the standard of pitches has to be maintained to a certain degree, which is consistent across all venues and I understand that to protect the pitches for a tournament like the World Cup, there had to be some kind of compromise in terms of the playing conditions when we played the IPL. So, we all understood that the wicket in the IPL finals was very, very good.
"I think the dew factor is becoming prominent as we head into this time of the year in Dubai and that is also going to help the pitches play much better. I presume Abu Dhabi and Dubai are probably going to be the best pitches out of all the venues. Sharjah, more or less, will stay true to its true nature, which is slow and low. I don't see many high-scoring unless dew becomes such a massive factor there as well. But, yeah, wickets I feel are going to be much better in the tournament."