T20 World Cup 2021: If Hardik Pandya can bowl two overs, it gives India that much more balance – Kapil Dev

India’s former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev believes if Hardik Pandya can contribute two overs it will give the team much more balance. Pandya hasn’t bowled since he has recovered from a back injury.

The all-rounder didn’t bowl a single over for Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded IPL 2021.

There are doubts over Pandya’s bowling fitness and the sources have reported that he might play as a finisher. Pandya also didn’t bowl in the warm-up match against England and there are doubts about his bowling fitness.

Pandya can provide the right balance if he bowls his quota of overs. In fact, it has been noticed that any bowler can have an off day in T20 cricket and thus Pandya can fill in the main bowler’s overs.

Kapil Dev said while talking to Sportskeeda, “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 (batting and bowling), it enhances the captain’s ability to rotate bowlers and gives him the extra option to fall back on.”

Earlier, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh used to contribute with the ball. But the current Indian team doesn’t have such options, which makes Hardik Pandya’s role even more crucial.

“When Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar were playing, they could have bowled 2 out of 4 overs, the captain had an extra person to consider if one of the bowlers got hit and it made his job easier. If Hardik can bowl even 2 overs, it gives India that much more balance.”

Dev added that if Pandya can bowl his quota of overs then he will give more flexibility to Virat Kohli. The former Indian skipper added it is crucial for an all-rounder to practice in the nets.

“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.”

“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.”

India will play their second warm-up match against Australia on Wednesday.