Does Hardik Pandya deserve to be in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad?

Since Hardik Pandya's arrival as the captain of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, nothing has gone as the fans expected. The all-rounder continues to suffer from poor form, and the five-time champions are hanging at the second bottom spot of the points table. Hardik's bad form in the cash-rich league has raised many questions about his inclusion in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad. But, he is still the front-runner in the race of all-rounders.

Hardik is the only seam-bowling all-rounder option with Team India. Shivam Dube is doing great for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but he doesn't seem to bowl nowadays. India will need someone to bowl some overs in the middle overs and also bat when the team needs it. 

Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma are expected to have an informal meeting in Delhi on a possible 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, according to a report by PTI. The formal announcement might happen in Mumbai on May 1.

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According to former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, BCCI must stop prioritizing Pandya. He said, "What I feel about Hardik is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him that much priority as they have given him so far because we still haven't won the World Cup."

He added, "If you think you are a primary all-rounder, you need to make that kind of an impact at the international level. As far as the all-rounder is concerned he hasn't made that impact at the international level, we are only thinking about the potential," during a Star Sports Press Room Show.

Pandya, after returning to action in the ongoing Indian Premier League from an injury, has failed to make an impact with both bat and ball. The BCCI had recently made it mandatory for national team cricketers to play domestic cricket when not on national duty. They set a precedent by dropping Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the annual central contracts list. However, the same thing hasn’t yet been followed in the case of Pandya.

“First of all, Hardik needs to play throughout the full year. He cannot pick and choose. Indian cricket needs to stop doing that. Stop giving preferences to individuals, if you do that, you will not be winning major tournaments,” Pathan also added. 

“What Australia has been doing for many years is that they are preferring the team game. Making everyone a superstar. Not one superstar, everybody is a superstar in the squad. If you don’t do that, you will not win big tournaments,” he further added.

Hardik Pandya's stats in the ICC T20 World Cups

The 30-year-old all-rounder has represented Team India in three T20 World Cups (2016, 2021, and 2022). Here are his batting and bowling statistics in the T20 World Cup matches.

Hardik Pandya T20 World Cup - Batting stats

Pandya has scored 213 runs in 16 T20 World Cup matches. He scored 63 runs in the semifinal of 2022 against England, which is his highest score in the competition.

Hardik Pandya T20 World Cup stats - Bowling stats

Pandya has picked up 13 wickets in T20 World Cup matches for India. He has an average of 25.31 and his best bowling figures are 3/30. 

Does Hardik Pandya deserve to be in India's ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad?

He was once considered the main candidate for playing the captaincy role for the World Cup 2024. However, due to his poor form this season in the IPL, there have even been discussions of dropping him from the World Cup squad. Pandya got injured during the ODI World Cup 2023. After that, he directly featured in this IPL.

The 30-year-old all-rounder has just bowled 19 overs in 9 matches. He has been able to take only four wickets at an expensive economy of 11:00, averaging 56.75. Hardik’s form with the ball is very crucial for his selection, which has not been good.

Hardik is one of the very few fast-bowling all-rounders in India. But with the lack of bowling, especially poor bowling, the selection will be very tough. He has failed to perform with the bat too. The MI captain has scored only 197 runs in 9 matches at a poor average of 24.62. His strike rate is also questionable for a batter who bats in the death overs. 

He failed to close out two games with the bat this season. In the first match against Gujarat Titans, he failed when 27 runs were needed in the last 2 overs. He also failed to score against Chennai Super Kings. 

After MS Dhoni’s retirement, Hardik Pandya was the only finisher of the Indian side. But now, it is looking like the management has to find someone else in place of Pandya.

Shivam Dube has been sensational for the Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL season. The left-handed batter has scored runs in eight innings at a remarkable average of 51.83 and a strike rate of 165.95. Dube also has improved his technique against the fast bowlers. The left-handed batsman has also improved his skills against fast bowlers.

His reliable performances have made him a strong candidate for the T20 World Cup. The only concern is that Shivam Dube has not yet bowled in this season's IPL. If he starts bowling and impresses the fans and the selectors with the thing that was missing in Hardik.