India vs Pakistan: Hardik Pandya Fit to Bowl in T20 World Cup 2021? Virat Kohli gives Update

Hardik Pandya fit to bowl in T20 World Cup 2021: The Virat Kohli-led Indian team will kickstart their campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 against arch-rivals Pakistan on 24 October at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India have defeated Pakistan in all of their last five T20I matches and have a staggering unbeaten 5-0 record in their favour. However, both India and Pakistan will be hoping to start their journey in this mega event on a high.

Hardik Pandya Fit to Bowl in T20 World Cup 2021?

Ahead of the much-awaited clash against Pakistan, Indian captain Virat Kohli gave an important update on Hardik Pandya’s fitness and whether he will be contributing with the ball or not. Kohli mentioned that Pandya is getting better with regards to his physical fitness and could be fit to bowl atleast two overs at some stage in this T20 World Cup. The Indian skipper also noted that the star all-rounder is someone who can contribute amazingly well at the No.6 spot in the batting order.

? ? We are confident in terms of execution of our plans.

Captain @imVkohli on #TeamIndia's approach ahead of the #T20WorldCup opener against Pakistan. #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/BiMug1gfUh

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 23, 2021

“Honestly I feel that Hardik presently with his physical condition is getting better in terms of being prepared to bowl at least two overs for us at a certain stage in this tournament,” said India captain Virat Kohli ahead of the match against Pakistan.

“What he brings at that No.6 spot is something you cannot create overnight. Hence, I was always in favour of backing him in Australia as a batter purely and we saw what he did in the T20 series and how he can take the game away from the opposition when he is in full flow,” he added.

India vs Pakistan

Virat Kohli almost cleared the fact that Hardik Pandya is currently not fit to contribute with the ball and he also stated that they are considering other options as well to chip in with a few overs. However, it will be really interesting to see the combination of the India playing 11 for the opening game against Pakistan. India is very much likely to go in with a total of six batters that will include both Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya while Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Jasprit Bumrah will be the main bowlers. There will be a toss up between Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the final spot.

On the other hand, Pakistan have already announced their 12-man squad for clash against India. They have left out the trio of Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim Jr.

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