Will Hardik get selected for T20 World Cup? Rohit, Dravid, Agarkar put ‘condition’

With the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 set to be played in June, the performances in the ongoing IPL 2024 have been considered seriously in picking the Indian team, and the biggest question as of now is whether Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya will make a comeback or not.

All-rounder Pandya, 30, has not been part of the Indian team since October 2023 after he got injured during the ICC World Cup 2023. India, under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, went undefeated till the final and lost the title clash to Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19.

Pandya’s last international match was against Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune. In the same match, he got injured and was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup.

Now, with another World Cup in June, this time in the T20 format, all eyes are Pandya’s comeback. But, it will not be an easy re-entry to Pandya to the Indian squad as the selection panel, coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit have put a “condition”, according to a report in Indian Express.

Recently, Dravid, BCCI selection panel chief Ajit Agarkar and Rohit met and they decided that Pandya has to bowl regularly in IPL 2024 to make a comeback.

In the two-hour meeting at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai last week, the major part of the discussion was about the seam bowling all-rounder which the team is looking for in the USA and West Indies, which will host the World Cup, the report said.

Though Pandya is bowling in IPL 2024, including opening the bowling for MI twice, he has not been good with the ball. Till April 17, Pandya had bowled in four of the six matches MI played. He has taken three wickets and his economy rate is 12.00.

Pandya has been having a tough time in IPL 2024 with MI fans booing him at stadiums. MI’s supporters are upset that Rohit was replaced as the team’s skipper by Pandya.

He was also criticised by fans and former cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar after he bowled the 20th over in MI versus Chennai Super Kings (CSK) match on April 14 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and was hit for three successive sixes by MS Dhoni. In that over, he conceded 26 runs and took one wicket.