Asia Cup 2023: Hardik Pandya is ‘backbone’ of Team India, says Mohammed Kaif

Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif has said that Hardik Pandya is the backbone of Team India. Pandya holds the key for the Indian team as a seam-bowling all-rounder and he is going to hold the key in the upcoming World Cup 2023.

Pandya’s fitness has been closely monitored in the last couple of years and he has been consistently bowling in ODIs. The right-hander also played a crucial knock of 87 runs in the group-stage match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup when the chips were down. Pandya added 138 runs with Ishan Kishan, who scored 82 runs, after India were in a spot of bother at 66-4.

“When India was in trouble against Pakistan, Hardik rose to the occasion and scored 87 runs and built a vital partnership with Ishan Kishan. In the second meeting against Pakistan, he got the prized wicket of Babar Azam. So, he is a match-winner. When the team is in trouble, Hardik bails his side out of the situation. When the top-order collapses, Hardik steps up and plays a match-winning knock. In my eyes, Hardik Pandya is the backbone of this Indian team,” Kaif told on Star Sports.

On the other hand, Kaif showered praise on Shubman Gill, who continued his stellar form. Gill scored a fine knock of 121 runs off 133 balls against Bangladesh in the last Super Fours stage match on Friday but his efforts went in vain as India lost by six runs. The youngster could not get the support from the other end as Team India kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Before the Asia Cup final, Gill was the highest run-getter of the tournament with 275 runs in five matches at an impressive average of 68.75 and a strike rate of 90.46.

In 2023, Gill has amassed 1025 runs in 17 ODI matches at a staggering average of 68.33 and a strike rate of 103.32.

“When you play a multi-national tournament, it is not easy to get the runs. But Shubman Gill was there and played the shots well. He understands how to get maximums or boundaries in a spin-friendly track, how to play the new ball as well as improvise his game towards the fag end of the match. He is turning out to be a terrific player,” he added.

Overall, Gill has scored 1712 runs in 32 ODI matches he has played at an average of 63.40 and he has been giving a solid platform to the team along with captain Rohit Sharma.