Vishwas Puri
Indian star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is all set to be back in action in cricket and will be seen playing in the T20I series against Bangladesh. While practising bowling in the nets in order to gear up for the clash against Bangladesh, there are rumours that Morkel was not happy with the bowling approach of Hardik.
Morkel was not happy by Hardik bowling close from the stumps and he talked toHardik regarding that. But later on Hardik was again getting close to the stumps while bowling, which disappointed Morkel. Morkel again instructed Hardik not to bowl close to the stumps. Morkel was also seen instructing Hardik about his release point. Whenever Hardik was going to his bowling mark, Morkel was seen guiding him with some instructions.
Hardik discipline in the team has always been a question. He has also not been a regular member of the team due to fitness. He also got injured in the mid tournament of World Cup 2023, and got rolled out for the rest of the tournament. He has also been a part of lot of controversies since last year. After joining Mumbai Indians as captain, Hardik failed a lot of backlash from the fans of the Mumbai Indians. As the fans wanted to see Rohit Sharma continue as the captain of the franchise when Hardik returned in the action again in IPL 2024, he did not get support from the fans of his own team and got booed in most of the stadium and especially the home stadium of Mumbai, Wankhede. Later on in July this year, there were also views of Hardik Pandya, getting separated from his wife, Natasha Stankovic, which came to be true when Hardik posted about the separation on Instagram through a post.
But it is important to note that Hardik has been a crucial part of the Indian team for years. He is one of the prominent founders of the team, as he contributes with his bat and ball equally. It is very difficult to find a replacement for Hardik Pandya.
In the T20 World Cup 2024, Hardik Pandya scored 144 runs at a strike rate of above 150 and took 11 wickets in the tournament .
After being the deputy of Rohit Sharma in the T20 World Cup 2024, there were speculations that Hardik Pandya would be the successor of Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian team after retirement of Rohit. But the selection committee and coach Gautam Gambhir preferred Surya Kumar Yadav over Hardik Pandya as the captain of the Indian T20I side. The reason behind this decision was inconsistency in Hardik availability due to injuries and other reasons. Hardik, who was expected to be the captain of the Indian T20 side, did not even get selected as a vice captain of the team, as the youngster Shubman Gill was selected as the deputy of Surya Kumar Yadav.
Hardik also opted out of the Sri Lanka ODI series, due to personal reasons. he was last seen in action in T20I’s against Sri Lanka.