I can bowl four overs now as a third or fourth seamer: Hardik Pandya

India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s stature as a bowler is growing with each passing game as the 28-year-old scalped his 50th T20I wicket recently, in the third T20I against West Indies in Basseterre. The Indian star spoke about his resurgence as a bowler and believes that he provides more balance to the side as the third seamer.

The West Indies team led by Nicholas Pooran made a steady start in the third T20I and was in a commanding position after the powerplay, but Hardik rocked them with the wicket of last match’s hero, Brandon King, and then annihilated the Caribbean batters with his variations, affording them no pace to work with at all.

Hardik has emerged as one of the most dependable bowlers for the Indian team since making a return from his back injury. The aggressive all-rounder has bowled his quota of four overs in all of the three games in the series and believes that he can bowl four overs in a match as a third or fourth seamer rather than a filler, which he used to earlier.

“Again I’ve mentioned multiple times that was the reason I felt I should take some time off to make sure my bowling comes off because I’ve realized when I bowl, it gives a lot of balance to the side; it gives a lot of confidence to the captain. I can probably say I can bowl four overs now as a third seamer or a fourth seamer where I can contribute equally as I do with the bat,” Hardik said after India secured a 2-1 series lead.

‘Whenever I’ve taken the responsibility, it has added some more flair to my game’ : Hardik Pandya

The Gujarat Titans’ skipper has taken his game to another level since donning the role of captaincy for the IPL franchise and since then led India to a series victory against Ireland and is deputizing for skipper Rohit Sharma in the series. He stated that the added responsibility on his shoulders makes him think more and brings out the best in him.

“I’ve always enjoyed the responsibility, and it has added more and more to my game. Whenever I’ve taken the responsibility, it has added some more flair to my game because it makes me think more, and when I think more, it just adds more value to my cricket,” he added.