Hardik Pandya vs Shivam Dube - IPL record

Hardik Pandya has been undergoing a tumultuous time in the 2024 edition of the IPL as the captain of Mumbai Indians and the lack of results, the noise and backlash from fans have had an effect on his performances, about which less said the better

Hardik has had a couple of decent knocks with the bat and hence despite those poor outings in two matches, his strike rate is 145.5 and is averaging 26, but has scored just 131 runs in six innings

With the ball, Hardik has bowled on and off and even though he has taken three wickets, two of them coming against the Chennai Super Kings, his economy rate is 12, which is extremely poor

Overall in the IPL, Hardik has scored 2440 runs at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 145.8 and with the ball he has a strike rate of 22.6 and economy of 8.97 having sent down 200-plus overs in the tournament, which is outstanding for an all-rounder. So, Hardik just needs time and we may see the player we are used to seeing

Shivam Dube, on the other hand, has been smacking it all over the park as he has been a middle-order enforcer and a half for the Chennai Super Kings

Having scored 242 runs in the tournament so far, Dube averages 60.5 and has smashed a strike rate of 163.51. Dube has single-handedly induced fear in the opposition teams and captains to put a complete stop on spinners and bowl their best fast bowlers to him

Dube hasn't bowled a ball in the IPL since 2022 as he has been used as an impact substitute. Even the Indian team used him for a couple of overs in the Afghanistan series but the Chennai Super Kings haven't shown any inclination towards him as a batter

Overall in the IPL, Dube has scored 1348 runs at an average of 31.35 and a strike rate of 145.26, which is surprisingly less than Hardik Pandya. Hence, the talks of Dube replacing Hardik just don't bear any substance given his stats with the ball are even poorer, as he has an economy of 9.4 with just four wickets in the tournament

As far as the Indian team is concerned, it's not a question of Hardik or Dube since the latter is not bowling but the impact he has had in the middle overs, he becomes indispensable to the line-up given the structure of the side in the T20 World Cup. Hardik, on the other hand, maybe going through a lean patch but is crucial to the balance of the Indian team and hence, it's Hardik and Dube