India vs South Africa, 2020: 4 Indians to watch out for in the ODI series
The series is set to commence on March 12.
3. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya has been facing many injury issues of late and is returning to international cricket after a long time. Pandya looked in sublime touch in the DY Patil T20 tournament, finishing the tourney as the second-highest run-scorer and the leading wicket-taker. He also scored a couple of centuries and bagged a five-wicket haul. Whilst Hardik bowled in the DY Patil tournament, India might not ask him to bowl 10 overs.
The junior Pandya brother is one of the most improved players in recent times. He has worked on his power-hitting ability against pace bowling and is currently the best Indian player in that aspect. India missed their premium white-ball all-rounder of late because of two main reasons. The first is the balance which he brings to the side; his absence did show that.
The second is the lower middle-order as his return will strengthen the batting unit. The right-handed batsman can help India in getting a cushion on extra 15-20 runs because of his fireworks in the slog overs. It will be interesting to see if India slot him at six or seven. If India want the right-arm pacer to complete his quota, he can bat at seven. And, in the other case, Ravindra Jadeja might be asked to bat at the seventh position with Pandya at the sixth.
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