Hardik Pandya says we all know what he (Jasprit Bumrah) brings to the table and how important he is to us
The Indian Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya said the team will not put too much pressure on Jasprit Bumrah and give him more time to make his comeback from an injury after the pacer was excluded from India’s playing XI for the first T20I against Australia.
The Indian Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya said the team will not put too much pressure on Jasprit Bumrah and give him more time to make his comeback from an injury after the pacer was excluded from India’s playing XI for the first T20I against Australia.
Bumrah was missed badly in the series opener against Australia on Tuesday as the visitors chased down 209 rather easily to enlist a four-wicket win and take the lead in the three-match series. Excepting Axar Patel, all Indian bowlers released more than 11 runs for every over.
Bumrah dropped out of the recent Asia Cup squad because of a back injury but has been added to the T20 World Cup squad and the series against Australia and South Africa.
“We all know what he brings to the table and how important he is for us. There will be concerns here and there (about bowling) which is fine. We got to trust our boys. These are the best 15 in the country and that is why they are there in the squad,”
Hardik said.
“Jasprit not being there obviously makes a big difference. He is coming back after an injury, he needs to get enough time to kind of come back and maybe not put a lot of pressure on himself.”
Hardik scored 71 not out of 30 balls to take India past 200. He has been the team’s stand-out player ever since his comeback post the IPL.
Talking about his performances of late, he said:
“I have gotten a lot of success recently but for me, what is more, important is that even on my good days how can I get better? In the kind of career graph I have had, I don’t make a big deal about my performance whether success or failure.
“I had a good game today (Tuesday night). They could target me in the next game and I need to be one step ahead.”
“There was no dew. You have to give credit to them for the way they batted. They played good cricket. We could not execute our plans with the ball, with our deliveries.
“You can’t pinpoint why we lost. It is a game. It is a bilateral series. We got two more matches and we will try to perform better.”
He also praised Cameron Green, who smashed 61 off 30 balls on his opening debut and shocked the Indians with his assault.
“Good on him the way he played. We have seen a lot of videos but it is all about executing your plans. He played some good shots and credit where it is due,”
added Hardik. PTI BS SSC SSC.
