Hardik Pandya doesn't have to be MS Dhoni, even if he considers him an idol: Aakash Chopra
Pandya doesn't have to be Dhoni, even if he considers him an idol: Chopra
India’s stand-in T20I captain Hardik Pandya faced severe criticism for not letting Tilak Varma complete his successive fifty against West Indies. During the 3rd T20I in Guyana, Pandya hit a six to wrap up the chase even when Varma, standing on the other side, was playing on 49*. Speaking on the same, former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra said Pandya doesn’t have to be like MS Dhoni, even if he admires the ex-India captain.
On the one hand, a section of fans and pundits lashed out at Pandya for unnecessarily going for the winning shot even when around two overs were left, others, including Chopra, were of a different opinion – questioning why landmarks are being talked about in this format.
In reference to Pandya’s instance, Chopra reminded about the 2014 T20 World Cup semis instance against South Africa, when MS Dhoni played a forward defense to avoid hitting the winning run because Virat Kohli was standing on the other end, having played a gem of an inning (67 off 42 balls at that time).
"It's an interesting one. Hardik Pandya has been trolled a lot and has been criticised. But there's another school of thought that says, why are you talking about milestones in T20 cricket? So, that was quite in the middle of a conversation," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
"I remember once MS Dhoni played a forward defensive shot because there was Virat Kohli at the other end. He wanted him to finish it off, he didn't want to take the limelight. But Hardik doesn't have to be a Dhoni, even if he considers him an idol," Chopra added.
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Tilak Varmaimpresses Chopra
Tilak Varma is one name everyone has been chatting about – and why not, as he has proved to be India's best batter in the three T20Is played so far. After missing out on his debut fifty, though he slammed two sixes off the first two balls of his international career, Varma came good in the second match, completing his maiden half-century in this format.
His range of shots has impressed everyone, and Chopra is not different. Considering Tilak knows about his role, it makes his and everyone else’s job easy.
"Tilak Varma, outstanding. First Indian to get 30+ scores in his first three international innings. He scored a fifty in his previous games and was close to another this time too, in fact, it should've been a fifty. His temperament is good, his range is good, he was aggressive at first and then was happy to play second-fiddle to Suryakumar," Chopra had earlier said on his channel.
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