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After guiding his team Gujarat Titans (GT) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy during the 2022 season, Hardik Pandya will be pumped to help his side overcome South Africa in their upcoming T20I home series, starting on June 9. Hardik will be making a return to the national side after being dropped and backed up his recall with a stellar performance with the bat and especially the ball in the IPL final against Rajasthan Royals (RR). However, one legend is not convinced that Hardik to back to his fittest form.
Former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin believes that Hardik is still not 100 percent fit despite his heroics in IPL 2022. "He has the ability, he has done well for the Indian team, but because of the injuries, he was not in the team consistently. He has come back now; he is bowling his four overs. How long he will bowl we really don't know. But we definitely want him to bowl since he is an all-rounder," Khaleej Times quoted Azharuddin as saying.
After bowling in GT's first match of the season, Pandya rarely trusted himself with the ball as his pacers and spinners did the job for his team. But in the final, he bowled a match-winning spell, notching three wickets for 17 runs and was also named Player of the match. Pandya finished the season with 487 runs, including four fifties and eight wickets, but Azharuddin reckons there is still room for consistency in Pandya's performance.
"In the IPL final (against Rajasthan Royals), he completely changed the game, three wickets in four overs, then he scored 34 quick runs. He is a good talent, just needs that consistency," said Azhar.
