Often being compared with India’s World Cup winning captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev, Hardik Pandya has substantiated the comparisons on many occasions with his hard-hitting abilities and brisk seam bowling. Along with his playing style, his experiments with hairstyles and hair colours make him stand out among his peers. But he plays as flamboyantly on field as he carries himself off the field. Pandya is truly a find of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as his heroics with Mumbai Indians booked his berth for the Indian cricket team. Following a successful IPL 2015 and Syed Mushtaq Ali domestic T20 tournament in 2016, the Gujarati all-rounder made his debut for Team India on January 26, 2016, in a T20I match against Australia at Adelaide. It took him a few months to break into the 50-over set up as he debuted in ODI cricket on October 16, 2016, playing New Zealand at the picturesque HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala. With a fifty on his Test debut, Pandya played his first longest-format game for India on July 26-29, 2017, against Sri Lanka at Galle.
Read MoreTilak Varma smashed 39 off just 22 on his international debut but the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan struggled to contribute while chasing a 150-run target.
Here is the pitch report, weather forecast, and changes in the playing XIs of both India and the West Indies ahead of the 1st T20I in Trinidad.
'A lot of things could be better when we come to West Indies last time, travelling and everything,' Hardik added.
"I was just waiting to get the opportunity and once I got the rhythm I could get going," Hardik Pandya said after the 3rd ODI.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and batting stalwart Virat Kohli were rested for the second game in a row as Hardik Pandya continued to lead the side in the third ODI against West Indies in Trinidad.
Hardik Pandya has bowled only 9.4 overs in the two ODIs against West Indies. He didn't bowl much in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Gujarat Titans too.
"I have to bowl more overs and get my workload up for the World Cup. I'm a turtle right now not the rabbit and hoping everything goes right as the World Cup comes on," Hardik added.
West Indies handed Team India a humiliating defeat after the Men in Blue chose to rest two of their senior batters, skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as they faltered with the bat.
Twitter reacts to Sanju Samson's inclusion in the playing XI for the 2nd ODI vs the West Indies.
Hardik Pandya's bizarre dismissal in the first ODI against the West Indies sparked debate.
Jasprit Bumrah is bowling at full capacity at National Cricket Academy and is expected to play warm-up games to gain some match fitness.
Team India will take on Ireland in a three-match T20I series following the tour of West Indies and before the Asia Cup as all of the big stars are likely to give it a miss.
Team India is set to play a three-match T20I series against Ireland starting August 18 following the West Indies tour.
Hardik Pandya has been handed the India vice-captaincy in ODIs along with being the captain of the T20I side. Notably, he might be missing out on the Ireland T20I series.
Team India will play five T20Is against West Indies starting August 3 after Tests and ODIs. Hardik Pandya will continue to lead the Indian team in T20Is.
Gujarat Titans have won all of their three encounters against Lucknow Super Giants and are favorites to win this game.
In a recent podcast, Suniel Shetty backed KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya over the 2019 Koffee With Karan controversy.
In his IPL career so far, Hardik Pandya has scored 2003 runs in 111 IPL matches.
IPL 2023: GT vs CSK, Match Prediction: David Miller of GT and Maheesh Theekshana of CSK are yet to arrive due to international commitments and will miss this match.
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