File photo of Yuzvendra Chahal.© AFP

Hardik Pandya has evolved in terms of maturity and performance. While batting has always been his forte, bowling has also become a crucial part of his game now. Hardik missed bowling in several matches in the recent years due to injury before making a superb return. Be it his performance in Indian Premier League 2022 or for the Indian team of late, people never get tired of praising the star all-rounder. As of latest, India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has lauded the player for the versatility in his batting and also talked about how Hardik has improved as a bowler.

It is worth noting that Hardik played as a lower-order batter at the international level and in IPL during the initial years of his career before he showed immense maturity to play as a specialist batter and returned noticeable scores during crunch situations. He had led Gujarat Titans to IPL title triumph in their debut season earlier this year.

“Hardik has changed completely, we saw him batting at No.7 earlier. I think when he went to Gujarat Titans from Mumbai Indians, he realised he can bat higher up the order. Any batter who can hit right from the crease, it is difficult to bowl to him. He is batting like a proper batter, which has given us more strength,” said Chahal on Sports Yaari.

While praising Hardik’s bowling, Chahal said that Hardik’s bouncer is “really deceptive”.

Promoted

“He is bowling his four overs also, with him coming back, it has really helped our side. He bowls a quick bouncer, if you see it from square off, his bouncer is really deceptive. It shows how much he worked hard when he was out due to injury,” Chahal added.

While Hardik has been rested for India’s ongoing three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe, he has been named in the Asia Cup squad, starting August 27 in UAE.

Topics mentioned in this article