![Hardik Pandya is a non-negotiable for T20 World Cup 2026 [Source: @hardikpandya7/X.com]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1765382988766_Hardik_Pandya_India_T20_World_Cup_2025.jpg?type=hq)
Hardik Pandya is a non-negotiable for T20 World Cup 2026 [Source: @hardikpandya7/X.com]
There are cricketers who fit into a team, and then there are cricketers who complete a team. Hardik Pandya belongs firmly to the latter category.
Every time he walks out in blue with his chest out, eyes sharp, and shoulders loose, India suddenly look a little taller, a little surer, and a little more dangerous.
Cuttack was just another reminder. Returning from yet another injury layoff, Hardik didn’t ease in. He detonated. A blistering 59* off 28, a wicket with his first ball, and an aura that made everything around him feel effortless.
India won by 101 runs, but more importantly, they rediscovered the version of themselves that can defend a T20 World Cup.
And that is exactly why Hardik Pandya must be placed in bubble wrap from now till March 2026.
Hardik Pandya is a rarity in modern T20 cricket
T20 specialists are everywhere, from powerplay hitters to death bowlers to mystery spinners to finishers. But the sport has quietly run out of true all-rounders who can change a match with bat and ball on the same night.
Hardik Pandya is one of the last of that rare breed. He hits sixes on demand, bowls the tough overs no one volunteers for, and fields like every moment matters.
Moreover, under pressure, the suffocating kind, the knockout-stage kind, he doesn’t shrink but stretches.
India’s youngsters may bring flair. But Hardik brings certainty. He allows the XI to stretch without snapping.
He gives the captain two players for the price of one. He offers balance no analyst can quantify. And no replacement, however talented, can replicate it.
But every gift comes with a warning
For all his brilliance, Hardik’s body remains stubbornly delicate. Back flare-ups. Ankle trouble. The 2023 World Cup injury that derailed India’s combination. Missed series in clusters. Comebacks that spark hope before the next breakdown dims it.
It is this duality, the extraordinary value and the persistent fragility, that should alarm Indian cricket more than anything else. Every extra game he plays before the 2026 T20 World Cup needs to be justified, not assumed.
Hardik Pandya is not a player you “pick”. He is a player you “preserve”.
India’s young team needs its North Star
Look at India’s T20 squad today. It’s exciting, fearless, and unscarred by old scars. But also young. Experience isn’t a luxury in World Cups. It is a survival kit.
When the moment tightens, when plans unravel, when silence falls heavy in a dressing room, there are only a handful of Indian cricketers who have truly lived that moment. Hardik Pandya is one of them.
Take him out, and the consequences are immediate. The middle order loses its steel, the bowling loses its flexibility, leadership loses its calm centre, and youngsters lose their anchor. India isn't just weaker without Hardik. They’re incomplete.
Hardik Pandya must hit bubble wrap mode: No apologies
The BCCI’s plan should be simple, even unapologetically protective. Rest him more than they play him, restrict overs, trim travel, and if needed, prioritise simulation over selection.
Because one fully fit Hardik Pandya in March 2026 is worth more than twelve half-fit versions scattered across bilateral windows.
If India want to defend their T20 World Cup title, they need Hardik Pandya as the hitter, the hustler, the bowler, the backbone, and most importantly, available, healthy and hungry when it matters most.
Everything else is flexible. Hardik Pandya is not.
