• Home
  • Cricket Analysis
  • Performer Getting Lost To Stubbornness Is Gambhir Under Utilising Hardik Pandya The Bowler

Performer getting lost to stubbornness: Is Gambhir under-utilising Hardik Pandya, the bowler?

Umesh Sharma

Hardik Pandya (L) with coach Gautam Gambhir (R) (Source: AFP) Hardik Pandya (L) with coach Gautam Gambhir (R) (Source: AFP) 

Hardik Pandya has established himself as a key part of the Indian team in the limited-over cricket, be it in ODIs or T20Is. His versatility has been very vital for the Men in Blue in the crucial moments on big occasions, especially in the multi-team tournaments like Asia Cup or the marquee international tournaments like T20 World Cup. 

Meanwhile, for almost the last one and a half years, Hardik Pandya as a batter has impressed a lot with his outings over the period of time. But there’s been a lot of questions around ‘Hardik Pandya, the bowler’ since the T20 World Cup 2024 concluded last year in the USA and West Indies. 

Given that, here I’ll take you to an analytical journey of how the current team management led by head coach Gautam Gambhir has under-utilized Hardi Pandya’s bowling abilities, and how it might have consequential impacts for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. 

The numbers narrate the declining arc

Hardik Pandya’s performance-arc is dissected into three separate time spans, starting from ‘between T20 World Cup 2022 to T20 World Cup 2024’, ‘during T20 WC 2024’ and ‘from T20 WC 24 till now’, his numbers are enough to tell a story that is possibly being hidden under the cover of ‘experiments’. 

Hardik Pandya post-T20 World Cup 2022 to ‘before T20 World Cup 2024

Criterion
Data
Innings11
Overs 35
Balls
210
Wickets
11
Economy
7.29
Average
23.2
OPM (Overs-per-match)
3.19
Ratio (Balls-per-wicket)19.09
BBI
4/16

Hardik Pandya during T20 World Cup 2024 

Criterion
Data
Innings8
Overs 25
Balls 150
Wickets11
Economy 7.64
Average 17.36
OPM (Overs-per-match)3.12
Ratio (Balls-per-wicket)13.63
BBI 3/20

Hardik Pandya since T20 World Cup 2024 

Criterion
Data
Innings
21
Overs 58
Balls 348
Wickets 15
Economy 8.86
Average 34.26
OPM (Over-per-match)2.76
Ratio (Balls-per-wicket)23.2
BBI 2/23

The above numbers to Hardik's name and a decline in his overs-per-match percentage from 3.19 between T20 World Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2024, 3.12 during T20 World Cup 2024 to 2.76 post India's World Cup win in Carribbean, clearly redirects one towards the volatile and uncertain coaching approach of the Indian management under Gambhir’s coaching. 

Dissecting the numbers furthermore, Hardik had a balls-per-wicket ratio of 19.09 to pick 11 wickets between two T20 World Cups, which further improved to 13.63 to pick 11 wickets during last year's T20 World Cup. But it witnessed a drastic downfall to 23.2 since the prestigious cricket biennial concluded. Besides that, his bowling average has fallen from 17.36 in World Cup to 34.26 after the tournament. 

Economy rate going to 8.86 since World Cup from 7.64 during the competition is also another evident fact to display how the current management is failing to utilize Hardik Pandya's bowling abilities. 

Forced alternatives failing to produce results compared to Hardik

In the last couple of months or since T20 World Cup the current management has used all-rounder Shivam Dube as an alternative bowling option. It has also reduced the number of overs which should be bowled by Hardik Pandya. Meanwhile, this force move by the Indian management also raises questions as they are putting all efforts make same Shivam Dube a bowler, who has been used to bowl just an over in four years by his IPL franchise, CSK. 

Dube has claimed 14 wickets in 13 innings since T20 World Cup, with an expensive economy rate of 8.27. He has quite better bowling numbers than Hardik Pandya, but still there's something management needs to understand and it's the fact, 'Dube can't provide that versatility which Hardik Pandya is known for in both batting and bowling'. 

So, preferring Pandya over Dube in both the aspects is more justifiable to utilize the former to his full potential and get some better results. Besides that, Pandya's impact in India's title win in the T20 World Cup 2024 can't be ignored just for the sake of an egoistic approach of an individual among the decision-makers. 

Conclusion: Time to rethink all-round options 

With T20 World Cup 2026 being just less than two months away, it's high time for coach Gautam Gambhir and management led by him to sit back and rethink their all-round options for the prestigious cricket biennial in thier own backyard. 

It is being said because Hardik Pandya's bowling in a pressure situation during the T20 World Cup 2024 was one of the top-most factors which guided India to lift the title.