Currently, Hardik Pandya is playing the greatest cricket of his career. The star India all-rounder hasn't appeared to make a mistake since making his injury-recovery return to first-class cricket. And his performance in India's Asia Cup 2022 opening against Pakistan was a prime illustration of precisely that. Pandya demonstrated his versatility by not only scoring 33 runs in just 18 balls but also taking three wickets with the ball. It, therefore, came as no surprise that Pandya's exploits captivated the cricketing world, with past players reserving the highest accolades for the star all-rounder.
Surprisingly, Wasim Akram and Ravi Shastri, two of the best and most recognised ex-cricketers and broadcasters, both agreed on Pandya. Akram claimed that Pandya is currently the best all-arounder in the world, far superior to some of his compatriots like Andre Russell of the West Indies and others, following India's five-wicket victory against Pakistan.
"I think he knows he is one of the best all-rounders in the world right now so he works according to that. His mindset is set according to that. So he wants to get wickets when he comes, he bowls at 140-plus, and then he comes out to bat... he is a very important member of the Indian squad in all formats. In my opinion, he is the best all-rounder in cricket right now the way he is batting. Better than Andre Russell, better than all the all-rounders we have. He is consistent, and an electrifying fielder too. Overall, he is one of the top cricketers in the world," Akram said on Star Sports.
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Needed the best T20 all-rounder in the business to power India across the finish line - @hardikpandya7Â
Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) August 29, 2022
Unexpectedly, former India coach Shastri referred to Pandya in a tweet in a similar manner, calling the 28-year-old player the best all-rounder in the world. "Needed the best T20 all-rounder in the business to power India across the finish line - @hardikpandya7," he tweeted.
The assessment may very well be accurate. Following Mohammad Nabi, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Moeen Ali, and Glenn Maxwell in the ICC rankings for T20 all-rounders is Pandya, who rose to the top five thanks to his performance the other night. Hardik has participated in 14 T20 Internationals in 2022, scoring 314 runs at an average of 34.88 and taking 11 wickets, with a high of 4/33 against England. In addition, he has led India in three T20Is—two against Ireland and one against the West Indies—and won each time.
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