WI vs IND: ‘Rusty’ Hardik Pandya’s batting in the T20I series is a big concern, says Wasim Jaffer

Wasim Jaffer said that Hardik Pandya looked rusty during the T20I series against West Indies and his batting was a cause for concern.

Pandya’s performance with the bat was under the scanner during the series against the West Indies. In the five matches he played, the Indian skipper managed to score 77 runs at a strike rate of 110.

In the context of his overall T20 career, Pandya has played 93 matches and scored 1362 runs in 73 innings with a career strike-rate of 139.83.

In the series decider, Pandya scored 14 off 18 balls, which was seen as a failure to capitalize on his time at the crease. This resulted in India losing the series to West Indies 3-2.

Speaking on Cricinfo, Jaffer admitted that the all-rounder looked rusty while batting and we didn’t see the free-flowing Hardik at the crease. The former cricketer said that the Indian skipper’s batting had been a cause for concern and each time he came in to bat, the Indian team lost their momentum.

“Well, it has been a concern. He looks little rusty. We can’t say that the free-flowing Hardik Pandya who comes in and strikes it sweetly. Doesn’t mean hitting sixes but striking it nicely, rotating the strike. Apart from the fifty he scored in the 3rd ODI, where also he started very very slowly, and picked it up in the slog overs. But even then he looked a little rusty.”

“That’s a concern for me. Looking at how Hardik Pandya batted in the series, that was a big concern. Not everytime he is going to start slowly, and he is going to finish strongly. We could see this during this series as well. As soon as he comes, the momentum drops down, the strike-rate comes down and puts the pressure on the other guys and the dug out as well. Something for him to worry, take note and improve,” said Jaffer.