Former India legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is confident that the under-fire all-rounder Hardik Pandya will come good at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA despite his poor show in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Hardik has had to deal with a lot of outrage from the fans and moreover, his captaincy has come under the scanner with Mumbai Indians losing seven out of 10 matches so far.
His poor form with both bat and ball has worsened things for him too. It has been a tough season for the all-rounder with constant critcism and scrutiny but even the selectors have backed him for the mega event naming him vice-captain of the squad too. Coming back to Gavaskar, he feels Hardik has gone through a lot in the IPL with pressure on and off the field almost in every match. But when it comes to the World Cup, Gavaskar feels the cricketer will bring out his best.
"There's a big difference between playing for your country and playing in the IPL. Playing for your country just brings out a different energy in every player and Hardik will be a different player. He has had to face a lot of issues in this tournament," Gavaskar said. "He has handled it quite well. So, when he goes overseas and plays for India, he will be in a completely different frame of mind. And that's going to be a much more positive frame of mind than what we have seen in this tournament. So Hardik will make good contributions with both bat and ball in the World Cup," he further added.
For the unversed, Hardik Pandya has scored only 197 runs in 10 innings this season with no half-century to his name and has also picked only six wickets with the ball while conceding runs at an economy of 11.
