Hardik Pandya’s decision to exclude Yuzvendra Chahal from bowling his fourth over during the 2nd T20I against West Indies has left the cricketing world puzzled.
Known for his captaincy skills that won him new fans in the past year, Hardik Pandya found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons due to his perplexing decision-making in the 2nd T20I against West Indies. Hardik’s choice to keep Yuzvendra Chahal away from the death overs drew criticism from former India cricketers, who questioned the logic behind it. Among them was former India batter, Robin Uthappa, who was left flabbergasted by Hardik’s move and summed up his reaction with a single expression.
“I have one expression – one Gen-Z expression for this moment – ‘pooof’ and not in a nice way,” Uthappa said during a chat on Jio Cinema after the conclusion of the 2nd T20I on Sunday.
Uthappa confessed that he couldn’t comprehend why Hardik didn’t persist with Chahal, especially after the wrist-spinner’s success in the 16th over when he dismissed both Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder.
“I am just mind-blown by how when a guy gets you three wickets in an over essentially you don’t bring him back for another one and kind of close the game completely.”
“The likes of Alzarri Joseph are not going to contend with the experience and class of a Yuzi Chahal. He knows how to bowl to these lower-order batsmen, he knows how to get them out. And Akeal Hosein is not gonna take him on, not at that point with three overs to go. He would have backed himself with two overs to go perhaps, not three overs to go. So, you knew there was an error in judgment there,” he further said.
With India already trailing 0-2, there’s no room for error in the remaining three T20Is against West Indies. The team will need to reassess their strategies and ensure they make the best decisions to turn the series around.
