When Hardik Pandya 'Bragged' About India's Squad Strength For Winning World Cups
Hardik Pandya [X.Com]
India all-rounder, Hardik Pandya propounds that strength in depth in Indian cricket is so strong that there can be multiple teams formed simultaneously and they could win matches and series. India has a potent bench strength and the same has been noticeable in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka. A lot of young players are rising through the ranks and they have taken giant strides.
After sealing the three-match series against Sri Lanka in 2021, five rookies – aggressive left-handed batsman Nitish Rana, Rahul Chahar, left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya, off-spinner Kishnappa Gowtham and wicket-keeper Sanju Samson, made their ODI debuts. The only time India had five debutants in an ODI was against Australia in December 1980 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground when spinner Dilip Doshi, Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Mumbai stylish batsman Sandeep Patil and Tirumalai Srinivasan made their debuts.
When Pandya bragged about India's bench strength
Pandya’s words came minutes after India handed debuts to five cricketers in the third and final ODI at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday. Praising the rich talent pool of cricketers India possess, Hardik Pandya has asserted that the selectors can pick two more competitive international sides which can win any competition in the world.
When India toured England and Sri Lanka at the same time in July 2021 with two different squads, all-rounder Hardik Pandya made a bold statement in Sri Lanka. The pace-bowling all-rounder boasted of India's bench strength, saying:
“The kind of talent which the Indian team possesses right now, I think we can pick two more teams and win any competition in the world.”
It seems as if Pandya's words came back to haunt him, with Team India losing the T20 World Cup 2022, WTC Final 2023 and were also on the losing side in the World Cup 2023 finals.
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