India vs New Zealand: Irfan Pathan praises India’s ‘extremely crucial’ all-rounder

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan showered praise on India’s current all-round star Hardik Pandya following his heroics in the third ODI against New Zealand.

Pandya played a multi-dimensional role as he scored a well-paced half-century – 54 from 38 balls – and also opened the bowling for India, dismissing Finn Allen early in the first over.

Pathan, who was an all-rounder himself, and performed a similar role for India over the years, was all praise for Pandya.

“He is an extremely crucial player. You need a player who can both bat and bowl to get the balance. It is very difficult to find the ability that Hardik Pandya provides to the Indian team. You will find very few players like him in world cricket.

“He first showed his might in batting. The shots he played, the straight pull he hit – he was playing tennis on the cricket ground. It was an exceptional shot and after that also he showed his power and range in the other shots,” Pathan said on Star Sports.

While batting, Pandya took his time initially and was scoring at less than run-a-ball but soon turned himself into a monstrous batter hitting big boundaries. Pandya hit three 6s and three 4s in his innings.

“If he is in form, it is extremely difficult to stop him. The knock came at the right time and fast as well because the other batters were finding it difficult to score against the old ball, but Hardik Pandya did not have that much difficulty,” Pathan added.

Pandya will now lead the side in the shortest format as India plays three T20Is against New Zealand starting with the series opener in Ranchi on Friday.

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