T20 World Cup 2024: S Sreesanth lavishes praises on Hardik Pandya

S Sreesanth (Pic: File Pic)

Following Hardik Pandya's stellar performances in the US's leg of the T20 World Cup 2024, former India pacer S Sreesanth heaped praises on him saying that, "he doesn't look like a part-time bowler".

Hardik Pandya with his sheer pace in New York has gained the limelight of fans. Featuring in three T20 World Cup 2024 matches, Pandya has registered seven wickets under his name with an economy of 5.41.

Following Pandya's performances, S Sreesanth said that he doesn't look like a part-time bowler and can bowl crucial overs. He can pick game-changing wickets just like Marcus Stoinis is doing for Australia.

"The way Hardik is bowling, he doesn't look like a part-time bowler. He can pick the new ball, and he can bowl those cutters. I think he is doing what Stoinis is doing for the Australia team, getting those crucial wickets and bowling those crucial overs. I think it is very important for an all-rounder," Sreesanth, who features as an expert on Caught and Bold on Disney+ Hotstar, said while speaking exclusively to ANI.

Hardik Pandya was continuously facing trolls after replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain of Mumbai Indians in the concluded IPL 2024.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024: Jos Buttler credits bowler after the win against Oman

During the IPL 2024, Pandya was trolled by the fans on social media and was even criticised by ex-cricketers following his on-field decisions. But in the T20 World Cup 2024, the star Indian all-rounder has regained his form and is proving his worth in the team.

Sreesanth lavished praise on Pandya and stated that his performance keeps getting better as the stakes get higher. Apart from his bowling, Sreesanth believes Pandya is capable of winning matches with his batting and fielding.

"When you play for the Mumbai Indians, then only Mumbai was supporting him, and when he plays for India, the whole country supports him. With all due respect to fans, the energy that he brings makes us love him even more. There is no comparison to Hardik Pandya. That person can win you matches with fielding, he can win you matches with bowling and he can win you matches with batting. His performance gets better when the match is good. He keeps the players together. So that is a great quality. The IPL is gone, and now India is playing. I will just say the IPL was practice match, and this is to win the World Cup," he added.

In the group stage, India named a strong playing XI, yet, some of the top stars are still serving time on the bench.

Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are some of the top stars who are raring for an opportunity to fall in their stride.

While talking about India's bench strength, Sreesanth "absolutely" believes India can lift the T20 World Cup for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2007.

"Absolutely, if we talk about Virat and Rohit, what a great brotherhood, and one can learn a lot of things from them. They have a lot of experience, they can win matches from any position. We have Rishabh Pant. What a story, not just for cricket but even for life. He is such an inspirational guy. It is not just for the sake of story-making; he is doing it again and again. In the game against Pakistan, he took a diving catch towards his right in Arshdeep's over. His bowling literally sealed the game for us," Sreesanth said.

"We have so much talent if you look at Arshdeep Singh, Bumrah with the way he is bowling, Hardik Pandya, and even Chahal, one of the best bowlers, sitting out. Sanju and even Kuldeep are missing out on games. We have such great bench strength," he concluded.

After securing their spot in the Super 8 of the T20 World Cup 2024, Team India will play their final group stage game against Canada on June 15 in Florida.

(With ANI Inputs)