"He doesn’t play that much cricket, and that’s a worry" - Sourav Ganguly on Hardik Pandya's poor IPL form leading up to 2024 T20 World Cup
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly feels the lack of consistent game time resulted in Hardik Pandya's poor form in IPL 2024. Having already been away from Test cricket since 2018, the ace all-rounder has dealt with fitness issues regularly.
Hardik suffered an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup and missed five months of action before returning at the start of the IPL. However, the 30-year-old endured a torrid IPL season as Mumbai Indians' new skipper, averaging only 18 with the bat and over 35 with the ball in 14 outings.
In an interview with RevSportz ahead of the T20 World Cup, which gets underway on Saturday, June 1, Ganguly wished Hardik would play more cricket to be in excellent form.
"Hardik is different because he doesn’t play that much cricket, and that’s a worry. I want him to consistently play cricket, for only then can he hit a rich vein of form. I would want him to do so, and it can only happen if he plays a lot more cricket," said Ganguly.
Furthermore, Ganguly dismissed worries about Indian skipper Rohit Sharma's poor IPL form heading into the World Cup.
"No, I am not worried. Rohit is a great of the game, and if you see what he did in the 50-over World Cup, I am confident he will do that again. At this level, form is about a couple of games when you have that kind of quality. So, I am not worried about Rohit. He has scored runs across the world, and has played a lot of cricket and will surely do the job expected of him," stated Ganguly.
After an excellent start to the IPL season, Rohit tapered off in the second half of the tournament to finish with 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and a strike rate of 150 in 14 games.
The lack of form of Hardik and Rohit meant Mumbai Indians (MI) finished at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table.
"Our bowlers shouldn’t have an issue in the World Cup" - Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly felt the mediocre form of India's pacers other than Jasprit Bumrah wasn't much of a worry, considering the varying nature of pitches in the IPL and the T20 World Cup.
Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj are the other pace-bowling options in the Indian squad along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya. All three endured disappointing IPL seasons, with economies of 10.03, 9.18, and 10.75, respectively.
"I am not really worried. Again, you have to take into account the nature of pitches in the IPL, the ground dimensions and the conditions on offer for the fast bowlers. The World Cup will be very different, and the conditions in the West Indies will not be anywhere near the IPL. Our bowlers shouldn’t have an issue in the World Cup is my assumption," said Ganguly.
The Men in Blue suffered a 2-3 T20I series defeat during their tour of the West Indies last year. They will begin their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland in New York on Thursday, June 6.