'Well played brother' - Mohammad Amir responds to Hardik Pandya's comeback-setback tweet after POTM performances vs Pakistan

Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has acknowledged team India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's performance against the arch-rivals Pakistan during their tournament opener of the 2022 T20 Asia Cup. Pandya gave crucial contributions with both bat and the ball as he was rightly adjudged player of the match. 

After the match, Pandya in an interview with Jadeja recalled how he was taken off the field against the same opponents after facing an injury back in 2018 during the same tournament. The star all-rounder also uploaded a post on social media platforms where he captioned the post as ' The comeback is greater than setback'. 

The former left-arm pac er from Pakistan replied to Pandya's post on Twitter where he wrote 'Well played brother'. To note, Amir retired from international cricket in 2020 but wanted to make a comeback to the national team later on under certain conditions. However, he never represented the Men in Green after that.  

I can remember those scenes where I was taken on a stretcher, says Hardik Pandya

"I can remember those scenes where I was taken on a stretcher and it was the same dressing room. So there is a sense of achievement with whatever has happened. As players, we get the fruit but I would like to credit Nitin Patel and Soham Desai (team physios) who have worked so hard on me for my comeback," Hardik said.

The right-handed batter also talked about what was going in his mind during the last over of the chase against Pakistan. When India needed six runs off last three balls, Hardik Pandya smashed a brilliant maximum off Mohammad Nawaz to take the team home in a fine fashion.

“I genuinely didn’t feel like seven runs were too much in the last overs. Whether they keep five or ten fielders, I had to go for a big hit. I genuinely showed my emotions for the first time in the game when you got out. But to be honest, I knew that the bowler was under pressure and I was waiting for him to make a mistake. From the field setting, I understood that he will bowl back-of-a-length and I was ready for it," Pandya added.