T20 World Cup 2021 | India have enough firepower to cover Hardik Pandya's inability to bowl, reckons Kapil Dev

10/19/2021

Kapil Dev has reckoned that Hardik Pandya not bowling for India in the T20 World Cup 2021 is not a concern as Virat Kohli's team has got enough firepower to make up for the deficiency. Notably, the star all-rounder, hasn't bowled regularly off late due to concerns over his lower back injury.

Hardik Pandya was last seen bowling in the T20I series against Sri Lanka in July this year, however, he did not bowl a single delivery in the UAE leg of the IPL 2021.

The 28-year-old on Monday featured in India's first of the two warm-up games ahead of their much-awaited encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan, but did not bowl to the England batters. During the recenetly-concluded IPL, Hardik had said that he would try and bowl soon, whereas, his Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene had condeded that the batting performance of the Gujarat-born cricketer can get affected if he is pushed to bowl.

Amid all the concerns and talks about Hardik Pandya and his bowling, former India captain Kapil Dev has reckoned that Kohli's army should be "okay" without the all-rounder. The 62-year-old admitted that even two overs of bowling from Hardik can give Kohli a big relief, but at the same time added that there was no shortage of talent in the team to overcome the riddle.

"An all-rounder always makes a massive difference to a team. Hardik not bowling will not impact India's chances, but it will make a difference in terms of Kohli's options. If an all-rounder is available for both, it enhances the captain's ability to rotate bowlers and gives him the extra option to fall back on," Kapil Dev told Sportskeeda.

"In Hardik's case, India should be okay given the talent in the team, but him bowling even 2 overs will obviously lend more flexibility. That said, I believe India does have the firepower in the team to make up for the deficiency," he added.

"If you are able to bowl 40-50 balls in the nets, it builds up the confidence in any player to bowl in a match, otherwise it is that much more difficult to be fully committed. If you don't practice in the nets, you won't have confidence in your bowling. Any type of injury hampers a player's ability."

Notably, India promoted Shardul Thakur, who was in the reserve list, to the main-squad while confirming their final fifteen for the marquee event which kicked off from October 17.

India won the warm-up match by 7 wickets on Monday. They next take on Australia in their second and final warm-up match on Wednesday.