Hardik Pandya a great example for current India A cricketers, says Rahul Dravid
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 IST
Former Indian cricket team skipper and India A coach Rahul Dravid believes that the secret behind all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s success is his ability to adapt to any situation.
Hardik Pandya is currently the highest run-getter in the ongoing ODI series between India and Australia with 181 run in 3 matches. He has also contributed with the ball and with 5 wickets to his name, he is the most successful Indian pacer in the series.
Rahul Dravid, who was Pandya’s coach during his India A days, was quite impressed by Pandya’s performance and he hopes that the current India A players will be able to emulate Pandya’s batting approach.
“A good example about Hardik from my perspective is, he’s willing to play situations and not just the natural game we often speak about. Credit goes completely to him. It’s not about playing just the one way you want to play,” he said on the sidelines of India A’s unofficial Test against New Zealand A in Vijayawada.
“He’s the one who has actually turned his career around,” Dravid was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.com.
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Pandya has become the cynosure of all eyes with his six- hitting prowess, demonstrated to good effect in the ongoing five-ODI series against Australia. He has scored two match- winning half-centuries in three games so far.
In the first ODI, he along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni had revived India’s fortunes with a match-turning 83, while in the third game, where he was sent up to No. 4 after the openers put on a century stand in a chase of 294, Pandya sustained the momentum by scoring 78.
“If he bats at four, he bats in a particular way. If he bats at six, he bats in a particular way. Tomorrow, he may bat at 80 for 4, like he did in the first ODI with Dhoni. That shows maturity and that’s what you want to see.
“This concept of ‘play your natural game’, which I hear all the time, frustrates me because there’s no such thing in my belief as ‘natural game.’ It’s only about how you play different situations,” Dravid, who has been coaching India’s U-19 and A teams for over two years now, said.
Dravid feels Pandya is a perfect example of how to bat differently in different conditions.
“You have to learn to bat differently in different conditions, and if you can do that like Hardik is showing at the moment, those would be signs of a developing cricketer, someone who can make consistent contributions and not someone who is a one-off, who can produce brilliance once in a while.
“The aspiration and challenges set for a lot of India A players is to be all-weather players, all-situation players, all-condition players.”
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