Former Indian cricketer Sandeep Patil has lambasted the national selectors for picking all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the T20 World Cup despite his inability to bowl in the tournament.
The 28-year-old has been jostling with fitness issues and has refrained from bowling. The all-rounder has not bowled a single ball in competitive cricket since July. He was expected to play as the sixth bowler at some point in the tournament.
Before India began their campaign against Pakistan, Pandya had said that he should be fit to bowl at some point in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
“His selection in the XI is up to the captain and the coach, and only the BCCI will know about it. But basically, if a player is not fit, then it comes to the selectors. If he didn’t bowl in the entire IPL, the selectors should have taken a call. They should have asked for a fitness test before including him in the team for the World Cup,” Patil was quoted as saying in TOI.
During the team’s training on Wednesday, Pandya was seen bowling at the nets under the watchful eyes of captain Virat Kohli, mentor MS Dhoni and head coach Ravi Shastri. But it remains to be seen whether the star all-rounder will bowl in the next game against New Zealand on October 31.
Patil questioned Pandya’s selection in the team while coming heavily on the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel.
“Someone has to be accountable. There’s no comment from Ravi Shastri. Rohit Shastri and Ajinkya Rahane said that he’s fit. How can you say he’s fit, if he became unfit during the match? I mean, this is the World Cup and not just any series or match,” Patil added.
Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar believes Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri, and selectors would have assessed Pandya's fitness levels.
“All the decision-makers in this case, the captain, coach, physio and the selectors, would have assessed the situation regarding Pandya,” Vengsarkar said.
