Hardik Pandya is playing on a different planet currently: Sanjay Manjrekar

Although India finished on the losing side in the series opener against Australia, there were a lot of positives for the hosts, and Hardik Pandya is one of them. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about the all-rounder's resurgence to great lengths after his swashbuckling performance against the Aussies in the first game.

Hardik Pandya started the Asia Cup with a match-winning assault against arch-rivals Pakistan but faded away in the tournament, not living up to the expectations. Manjrekar stated that the Asia Cup campaign was just a minor bump and Pandya looked back to his imperious best in the Mohali T20I.

Manjrekar also explained that form is not just about scoring big runs but also about playing impactful innings and confident shots, which is the highlight of the Indian all-rounder's game at the moment, who is batting 'on a different planet currently'.

“Absolutely, and you know we thought in the Asia cup, that maybe he’s lost his mojo a little bit and whether if he’s quickly going to come in form but that was sort of bump in the kind of batting form that we’ve seen with Hardik Pandya. When we talk about the form it’s not about the 40s, 50s, or 60s. The kind of shots [he is playing] and the impact he’s making with the bat, we’re back to the Hardik Pandya who’s playing on a different planet currently," Manjrekar told Sports18.

The cricketer-turned expert lauded Pandya for his exploits and highlighted the fact that the runs came against a quality bowling line-up in the first innings, which is no mean feat. 

"Class batting against some quality bowling. I think that is very important to note as well. And because India batted first, it wasn’t as easy as it was in the second half of the match. So, hats off to Hardik,” Manjrekar added.

Sanjay Manjrekar feels India is missing a X factor in the spin department

The former cricketer also touched on India's spin department, especially veteran leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, who was largely ineffective in Mohali. He felt that the diminutive spinner was a bit tired from all the cricket he has been playing since his return to the squad. Manjrekar also pondered over India's selection for the T20 World Cup and suggested that the team might be lacking an 'X factor' heading into the ICC mega event.

“Too many matches. He’s somebody that comes good if you see him, how he made a comeback after being dropped for a while. Come to Australia, when he’s had a little bit of break, he’ll be fine. But I’ve always wanted the X-factor in the spin department and that’s the only thing that concerns me about the squad that has been announced for Australia. Axar, Ashwin and Chahal - the three spinners, I don’t see drama happening in the middle-overs which you need to win T20 games,” Manjrekar said.