Virender Sehwag questions Virat Kohli over the under-utilisation of Hardik Pandya as a bowler
Hardik Pandya
|| India Correspondent ||
After a stunning win in the first ODI, India suffered a loss in the second, against England despite having 300+ runs on the board. All the bowlers conceded huge runs, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya wasn't given the bowl as well. In the post-match conference captain, Virat Kohli said that it was to manage his workload management as well.
However, that didn't go down well with the former India opener Virender Sehwag who said that Pandya can at least bowl 3-4 overs, as he did in the T20Is as well.
"At least to make a change, Hardik Pandya could have been given a spell of 3-4 overs. I don’t understand if he can bowl four overs in T20I cricket, then why cannot he do the same in ODI cricket," Sehwag questioned on Cricbuzz.
"If he only wants to play as a batsman, then say that he will only play as a batsman in ODI cricket, so then his performance will be assessed accordingly. Because as an allrounder you sometimes get an advantage, that if you are unable to perform with the bat on one day, then you performed with the ball. Or vice-versa. But if he is not going to ball, then he will only be assessed as a batsman. So, I am little disappointed that Pandya did not bowl a single over. If he is fit, he can bowl four overs in T20Is, so he could have bowled a couple of overs. If he had got a breakthrough, it would have helped the team,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pandya had undergone his back surgery way back in 2019, and since then he has not bowled much and in the IPL last year had played as a batsman. Sehwag even raised questions on Kohli's workload management statement too.
"If there are no overs in Hardik Pandya’s workload, then I feel something is wrong. Kohli said that workload management is being done for all bowlers including Pandya. But it cannot be so that he does not bowl a single over. Fielding for 50 overs is also tiring, so if he bowls four-five overs in between, it would not increase the workload much. I don’t know who decides that Pandya’s workload has increased. Because since he has returned from surgery, he has not played much cricket," Sehwag said.
"He missed the Tests. He has played 3 T20Is, in which he bowled four-six overs. The load of work has not even come on him yet since he has returned to fitness. If he was playing non-stop cricket across all formats, then I would have understood it. But he has no load on himself yet. He has only played T20Is. Maybe he might have said that he will not bowl 10 overs in ODI cricket, because if I get injured I might have to miss IPL," he concluded.
