Hardik Pandya can swing the ball on wickets where others can’t: MS Dhoni

Indian limited-over skipper MS Dhoni was mighty pleased after his side registered a 6-wicket win in the first ODI. While Kohli was the star of the show, Dhoni bagged quite some attention with his captaincy. His bold moves shocked a few but eventually came out triumphs for the team. He handed the new ball to debutant Hardik Pandya ahead of spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. The move worked well for India as Pandya bagged a wicket in his very first over.

Speaking on the bold decision in the press conference, Dhoni justified his decision. He said that Bumrah is capable of bowling with the old ball too. Bumrah’s efficiency at the death overs and the middle overs is equally good, he remarked. “Also, Bumrah is very good in the middle overs where he can give me wickets and also at the death. So if I can save his overs, I can use him at any point of time,” quoted MS Dhoni.

The Indian captain further hinted at continuing the same experiment of using Hardik up front. Citing the abilities of the all-rounder, he said that the team wanted to use him as a seamer. He credited Pandya for his ability to swing the ball on tracks where most other cannot.

“Our thinking was to use him as one of the three seamers and to give him a chance to exploit the new ball. The reason being we all felt he is quite deceptive. He can bowl quick. He has got movement and can swing the ball even on wickets where some other bowlers don’t get that kind of swing. He is somebody who can get some purchase of the wicket,” cited the Indian captain.

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He further suggested that the plan is to aim for the Champions Trophy 2017. India have only 8 games before heading into the tournament and Dhoni is very well aware of it. Dhoni is keen on utilizing these 8 matches to the fullest.

“We wanted to give him a go with the new ball. We just have 8 matches before Champions Trophy. So, we would like to see how he reacts under different conditions and situations. How quickly he can adapt to the conditions. If he keeps on performing like what he did today, I don’t see why we won’t pick him as the first of the three fast bowlers,” conceded MS Dhoni.

India will play 5 ODIs against New Zealand and have 3 ODIs to play against England in January next year.