T20 WC: Gautam Gambhir's take on Hardik Pandya, says 'he gets into India's playing XI only if...'

The Indian Premier League 2021 was treated as the precursor for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. During the entire tournament, especially the UAE leg, the performance of players (who are part of the Indian squad) was monitored very closely. Among other players, all-rounder Hardik Pandya grabbed most of the attention.

Pandya's chances of bowling during the World Cup looks dim after not bowling a single over during Mumbai Indians' disappointing IPL campaign. Cricket pundits have pointed it out several times, suggesting a rejig in the Indian squad.

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Now, commenting on the same, formerIndian batter Gautam Gambhir on Star Sports show Game Plan said, "For me, Hardik Pandya gets into India's playing XI only if he does proper bowling in both warmup games, not only in the nets."

"There is a huge difference between bowling in the nets and against quality batsmen like Babar Azam and that too in the World Cup," Gambhir said.

"He has to bowl in the practice matches and the nets, and he has to bowl 100 per cent. If you are thinking that you will come and bowl just at 115-120 kph, I will not take that risk," the World Cup-winning former opener added.

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In the T20 World Cup, India will kick off their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. The tournament was scheduled to be held in India but the COVID-19 situation in the country forced organisers to shift it to the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

India squad:Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan.

Standby players:Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel.