"Don't think it was Hardik Pandya's fault" - Kiran More defends the Indian all-rounder's performance at last year's T20 World Cup
Kiran More, Hardik Pandya's childhood coach, recently recounted how the all-rounder was widely criticized for his lackluster performances at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.
He, however, stated that it wasn't Hardik's fault and that he had made it obvious that he might not be able to bowl regularly at the event. More opined that the 29-year-old had found a place in the lineup as a pure batter.
Speaking to Sportskeeda on Pandya's 29th birthday, he said:
"Hardik Pandya went through a bad T20 World Cup 2021 and everybody blamed him. But I don't think it was Hardik's fault. He had made it very clear that he might not bowl. For me, he had walked into the side as a batter."
The Men in Blue's 2021 T20 World Cup campaign proved to be a forgettable one as they suffered a premature group-stage exit. Pandya mustered 69 runs form three innings and bowled just four overs in the competition.
"We did some cheating" - Kiran More on Hardik Pandya's road to recovery
More went on to say that while Pandya was given a complete plan by the Indian physios, they did tweak it a little to help the player regain his momentum.
The cricketer-turned-coach disclosed that Hardik resumed his batting practice by playing 25 balls in the nets. He added that the number of balls kept on increasing gradually over time.
He explained:
"When we resumed his batting practice, he played 25 balls on the first day. Then the next day it was 30 balls. But we did some cheating. While the physio had asked him to play 30 balls, we also went with 50 balls at times.
"I wanted him to get into a nice flow as it gets difficult to get into a good rhythm after you haven't played for a considerable amount of time."
Hardik Pandya successfully staged a turnaround with his stunning all-round exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) earlier this year. He led the Gujarat Titans (GT) to a championship triumph in their maiden season.
The talismanic all-rounder continued his stellar form in the ensuing international matches as well. He is expected to play a major role for Team India in the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.