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Sanjay Manjrekar (Source: NDTV Sports)
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has talked in favour of India's prime all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, who has been looking fresh and confident in the Indian jersey. Ahead of their first match against Ireland in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Pandya practised in the nets and clicked pictures with his fans. From everything, Manjrekar concluded that the all-rounder is quite happy after donning the Indian jersey and is an excellent asset to the team.
"I have been repeatedly saying, even before this match, if you see Hardik Pandya's performances in World Cups, he played the all-rounder's role very well in the 2019 World Cup. I am not at all surprised that he will feel slightly relaxed and relieved after donning India's and not the Mumbai Indians' blues. He has the ability and I am repeatedly saying that he is a big-match player," said Manjrekar while talking on Star Sports.
Pandya has played some amazing innings in the past, which has made him an asset to the team. The way he's been consistent for India during World Cups is why he's considered the prime all-rounder, and even after a failed IPL 2024 campaign, he was picked up as the team's vice-captain.
Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant shine in warm-up match against Bangladesh
In the warm-up game against Bangladesh, vice-captain and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya shut his critics by scoring a beautiful 40 runs off 23 balls, along with Rishabh Pant, who scored 53 runs and was retired out. Both batters displayed some great batting against the Bangladesh team, which now has raised the expectation levels of all Indians.
With Hardik and Pant in the middle and Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Virat Kohli in the top order, India's batting order looks beautiful. The players are quite experienced and have played in big tournaments before, hence, their only job will be to understand the pitches in New York and work accordingly.