ICC World Cup 2019 | Hardik Pandya always wants to do something special for the team, claims Robin Uthappa

While India’s middle order has been subject to some changes through the course of the tournament and has come under criticism at times, the one constant performer in it has been the irrepressible Hardik Pandya. Not only has he batted at an average of 30-plus and more importantly a strike rate of 138.52 in the mega event so far, he has also picked up eight wickets apart from putting in brilliant fielding performances match after match. 

“You know he is the kind of guy who is hungry and wants to do things. He really wants to be one of those guys who has done something special for the side, be it batting, bowling or fielding,” Robin Uthappa stated in a podcast with Cricbuzz.

Having made his debut in 2016 against New Zealand, Pandya has featured in 52 ODI matches for the Men in Blue and has as many wickets. He also has nearly a thousand international runs but his most striking feature is his temperament on the field. He never knows when he is beaten and plays with his heart on his sleeve. 

“We have seen it from the first international game that he played, the way he fielded in the outfield, the way he bowled. I think he got hit for 10-15 runs in his first over but he went to the boundary and made some brilliant stops in Australia and them came back and took a wicket,” Uthappa recounted.

Against Bangladesh, the decision was made to drop a specialist bowler which meant Pandya would have to bowl 10 overs for sure. Even though he is an all-rounder who is generally known for his batting, he did not falter much and came back every time he looked to be on the backfoot, ending up taking a match-winning 3/60 which included the all-important wicket of Shakib Al Hasan. Many cricketers including the likes of Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli have spoken off what he brings to the team off the field previously and Uthappa’s opinions were in tandem with theirs.

“All he knows to do is cricket and he has got an enormous amount of confidence about him. He backs himself like nobody else does. So he’s a really exciting guy, on and off the field, great and fun loving guy and a straightforward and honest human being. You don’t meet them a lot in our circle,” Uthappa concluded.