Sunil Gavaskar believes star all-arounder Hardik Pandya will be a different player and will do well for India in the Twenty20 World Cup

Whether it’s with the bat, the ball, or even as a captain, Hardik Pandya hasn’t exactly had the finest Indian Premier League seasons. The Mumbai Indians skipper, whose club is mired in ninth place, has amassed 197 runs and claimed only six wickets in ten games.

However, Sunil Gavaskar believes that Pandya’s form leading up to the T20 World Cup shouldn’t be taken too seriously and that the all-round player would be a “different player” wearing his country’s colors.

Pandya is the vice captain of the 15-member World Cup team that was revealed on Tuesday.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohd. Siraj are the members of the Indian team at the T20 World Cup.

“Playing for your nation and competing in the IPL are two very different things. Hardik Pandya will be a different player since every player has a distinct side when they play for their nation, according to Gavaskar on Sports Today.

“In this specific tournament (the IPL), he has had to deal with a lot of challenges, and he has done it rather effectively. I believe he would have a totally different mindset when he traveled abroad and had to play for India.

And compared to maybe what we have seen here in this tournament, it will have a lot more optimistic mindset. Thus, in this event, Hardik Pandya will contribute with the bat and the ball,” he said.

After completing an incredible comeback from the Gujarat Titans, a team he led for two seasons, Pandya has been heading to MI this season.

Gavaskar is certain that the India squad captained by Rohit Sharma will do well in the major tournament and that they may win the World Cup again.

“I don’t know why, but there’s no denying that this Indian squad seems to be a very strong one. It has a ton of expertise, some very powerful hitters, and a diverse bowling lineup,” he said.

Without a doubt, they are contenders for the crown. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck to succeed on the world stage, and if this Indian team has that little bit of luck, then I’m quite convinced that India will host the T20 World Cup again after 2007 (the victory),” he said.

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Gavaskar believed that Indian players would benefit greatly from the IPL 2024 in the June T20I championship.

“They’ll go with good rhythm (after the IPL); some of them would have scored 80s, 90s, and 100s; the bowlers would have bowled a fair amount of overs, the batters would have had enough time out in the middle,” observed Gavaskar.

Thus, it is obvious that this squad will take that little break. a week off (between the World Cup’s commencement and the IPL’s finish). They would be somewhat rejuvenated but not rusty after that little respite, he said.