Hitting sixes is my habit since childhood days: Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya, in his short international stint, has proved that he has the potential to become the all-rounder India has been looking for since a very long time. A seam-bowling all-rounder has long been missed by India ever since the retirement of the great Kapil Dev. There have been many cricketers who have been given a chance however none could produce the desired results on a consistent basis.

In Pandya India has a talent worth investing in. The right-arm medium pacer can chip in with the ball and is a fearless stroke player. In the 2015 IPL his performances under pressure enabled the Mumbai Indians to win some crunch games. He was an integral part of the team which scripted a dramatic turnaround in the tournament and went on to be crowned the champions. The Australian legend Rickey Ponting, who is the head coach of MI, was mighty impressed with the youngster’s skills and approach and expressed his excitement to work with Pandya. His performances for Baroda in domestic cricket have also been brilliant since the past 2 seasons.

The Baroda all-rounder celebrated his maiden call-up to the national T20 side in grand style. He scored 377 runs at an average of 53.85 including 3 fifties in the 2016 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He hit 28 fours and 19 sixes striking at 130.90 with the best of 86 not out against Vidarbha in Mumbai. He has also contributed with the ball picking up 10 wickets at 20.40 with the best of 3/13.

He had a memorable outing against Delhi in Vadodara in the same competition. Pandya hit five sixes and a four of a single over, which also witnessed four byes and a no-ball to take the tally to 39 for the over. The flamboyant all-rounder is one of India’s most promising cricketers and recently played two knocks which gave a glimpse of his talent.

His knock of 27 off 12 against Sri Lanka in the T20I home series was followed by a crucial 31 off 18 against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener in Dhaka. The confidence with which he took on the bowlers in tricky situations for his team was for all to see. In a short interview to bcci.tv Pandya was asked about his six hitting ability and he displayed the same confidence which he does with the bat in his hand.

About India’s win, he expressed his happiness and stated that the team had done well to start the tourney on a winning note. He reckoned that the team executed the plans well and hence were able to register a win. On his natural way of batting, he explained that he does not receive any special messages and that goes with the flow backing his natural instincts. He considers himself a proper batsman and backs his shots to the optimum.

On his 6 hitting ability he stated that he has a habit of trying to go for the big ones. Even at an age of 16, he used to try and produce the maximums even if it were to be the first ball he faced. Pandya agreed that it may or may not always come off, however, that doesn’t stop him from going for his shots. The all-rounder reckoned he understands his game better after playing domestic cricket where he realized his strengths.

Having never played gully (street) cricket, he got more clarity about his batting by plying his trade in domestic cricket. He concluded by stating that hitting sixes comes naturally to him and although he watches the likes of MS Dhoni and AB de Villiers hammer the big ones, he has no particular role models in this regards.

Have you seen the 39-run in an over – Watch: Hardik Pandya hits record 39 runs in an over