Hardik Pandya’s T20I bowling might just be more valuable than his batting

Pandya achieved a singular milestone during the erstwhile T20I successful Rajkot that 1 whitethorn not instantly subordinate with the 31-year-old. With 4 overs and 2 wickets successful the game, Pandya finished 1 transportation abbreviated of 300 overs successful the format aft surpassing Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 298.5 T20I overs, the erstwhile champion among Indians. Only 14 bowlers from Full-Member nations person bowled much deliveries successful T20Is.

It whitethorn not beryllium a standout origin astatine the outset. However, it is so important fixed Pandya’s predominant run-ins with injuries, a dodgy back, and the sheer expectations from him with the bat successful the middle-order.

On a broader context, Pandya has bowled arsenic galore deliveries arsenic the legendary Lasith Malinga successful T20Is and produced astir arsenic galore wickets arsenic the Sri Lankan slingman had successful his clip (107).

One of lone 3 Indian players to person played astatine slightest 100 T20Is, Pandya’s 94 scalps fertile lone down the sensational Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal for the Men successful Blue.

A ellipse of advancement betwixt 2 tantalising 20th overs astatine the T20 World Cup, successful 2016 and 2024, champion sums up Pandya’s emergence arsenic a dependable bowler. A one-run triumph implicit Bangladesh successful Bengaluru successful his 14th T20I was much of MS Dhoni’s inimitable beingness down the stumps, with the gloves and the brains. When India pulled disconnected a Barbados heist implicit South Africa past year, Pandya not lone eked retired a triumph successful the last implicit with the shot but besides snapped the country’s ICC rubric drought.

Splitting the 9 years successful half, witnesses Pandya’s emergence arsenic a dependable seamer who has besides precocious taken implicit arsenic India’s 2nd paceman successful the XI with an added reliance connected rotation astatine home.

Over 85 per cent (80) of his vocation T20I wickets person resulted successful wins, portion lone astir 65 per cent (1148) of his 1750 runs person fashioned victories. While Pandya’s bowling has been pinned mostly to the middle-overs, helium has grown to ace the relation successful the past 4 years.

Between 2016 and 2019 (no crippled successful 2020 owed to Covid), Pandya picked up 26 wickets betwixt overs 7-16, striking each 21.2 deliveries portion conceding 8.22 runs per over. The stocks person improved to 33 wickets since 2021, with a 19.6 SR and 7.95 economy.

His Maturing prowess besides saw him tasked much often with the caller ball, manning Powerplay overs alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh astatine the death, since the past fewer seasons.

In 10 matches wherever helium bowled successful the Powerplay successful the archetypal 4 years of his career, Pandya could not cod a azygous wicket portion leaking 10.5 rpo. He has since taken the work successful the first-six successful 38 games, producing 10 wickets portion holding a respectable 8.31 successful the slam-bang age. Pandya has besides reaped much wickets astatine the decease (overs 17-20) successful the 2nd fractional of his moving career, with a important simplification successful boundary-conceding deliveries (Bnd % of conscionable 12.69).

Pandya’s repertoire with hit-the-deck deliveries and off-cutters ranks him arsenic the astir effectual seamer successful the middle-overs successful each T20Is since 2021. His 33 wickets are good up of the likes of Haris Rauf (27), Mustafizur Rahman (24) and Anrich Nortje (20) to sanction a few.

With his refined bowling profile, Pandya has deftly refurbished his T20I utilities, the products of which volition stay integral to India’s T20 satellite rubric defence astatine location successful 13 months.