Less than two months remain until the T20 World Cup, and all the teams are preparing for the major competition. The Indian cricket squad, which is captained by Rohit Sharma, is also preparing for the match with a number of high-caliber series, including the Asia Cup. All eyes will be on Rohit’s team to snap that skid because India hasn’t won an ICC championship since the 2013 Champions Trophy. Hardik Pandya is prominently featured among the Indian players who have excelled in the T20 format during the past few months. Pandya was one of Ricky Ponting’s initial choices when asked on “The ICC Review” to name the top five players he would pick for a World T20I team.
Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was also included in the list by the former captain of Australia’s cricket team. Rashid Khan of Afghanistan was Ponting’s first selection, then Babar Azam of Pakistan, Pandya, Jos Buttler of England, and Bumrah. For Pandya, Ponting said: “On current form, it’s pretty hard to go past Hardik Pandya at number three. His IPL was outstanding. To see him back at the bowling crease is something that I was always a little bit unsure would actually ever happen, he’s had some really big injury setbacks, which has obviously affected how much he’s been able to play for India. “But he’s back bowling, and at 140kph which he was doing four or five years ago. But his batting and his maturity while batting has come on in leaps and bounds.
“He understands the game better and he understands his game better than ever before and right now he’s probably the best allrounder in the world in T20 cricket, and could potentially be in ODI cricket.” Regarding Bumrah, Ponting said: “Jasprit Bumrah in at number five. He is probably the most complete bowler across Test cricket, One Day cricket and T20 cricket in the world right now. Very good with the new ball when anyone decides to use him that way. “India might think of giving him an over with the new ball in Australia (at the T20 World Cup) where it might swing but what you can guarantee is a couple of great high quality death overs, which every team is looking for – someone that can execute slow balls and bouncers.”
