|| India Correspondent ||
Team India have lost the third T20I against England of the five-match T20I series. And after the loss, former India player Ajay Jadeja has questioned the team management's decision to play Hardik Pandya down the order. Hardik has only played 36 balls across the three matches and scored the same amount of runs whereas he didn't even get to bat in the second match.
As per Jadeja, Hardik is a big hitter and he can give a tough time to the oppositions and he should be allowed to bat up the order to put pressure on the oppositions 'weak link' rather than keep him till the end when the best bowlers are bowling during death overs.
"I feel some players are not playing in their ideal positions. For example, I am a big fan of how Hardik Pandya plays his game. When he came out to bat, look at the England bowlers who had overs left. Archer, Wood, and an over or two of someone else," Jadeja told Cricbuzz in an interview.
"There is no team who have five frontline bowlers. You will always have one bowler who's slightly weaker than the others. India need to understand which batsman will give them the maximum returns when they come up against a particular bowler," he added.
He further added that the batting order is not India's best one and explained how Hardik's ability to score quick runs can help the team make use of the overs bowled by Sam Curran or Chris Jordan, who are not considered as the best bowlers in the format. However, India are currently 1-2 down in the five-match T20I series with the fourth T20I to take place on March 18 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
However, this series will help them to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup which will take place in India later this year in October-November.