IND vs SA 2022: 3 reasons why Hardik Pandya merits a place in the playing XI

There are cricket comebacks and then there's Hardik Pandya's criticism-shutting, comparison-nixing, title-winning, and persona-elevating revival. From being constantly abused and judged to leading a team of apparent misfits to one of the most dominating IPL wins in his first season as captain, it is nothing but remarkable.

The 28-year-old took his batting to another level - 487 runs at 44.27 - by showing he can link the top-order and finishers from No. 3 and No. 4, build his innings maturely and still maintain his daunting attacking instinct. He exalted his bowling by taking the new ball and showing pace, swing, bounce and tenacity.

His calm demeanor broke on a few occasions (too few compared to his peers) but his nonchalant reaction - and an eye on the bigger picture - soon after Gujarat Titans (GT) won the title, showed he's in there for the right reasons too.

If these reasons aren't enough for him to get a set place in the Indian team for the upcoming five-T20I home rubber against South Africa, below we pick three more to suggest why India should build their T20 team around the all-rounder.

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#1 Hardik Pandya needs to build on his stellar form

Hardik played 15 games in IPL 2022. These were his only competitive matches since the 2021 T20 World Cup. In comparison, Delhi Capitals (DC) captain and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant played 31 such matches in the same period.

His fitness issues have been recurring and long-lasting, even depriving him of bowling for months. He gave another fitness scare mid-IPL 2022 and though he came back stronger, the lack of bowling contributions also impacted his batting - most of his lowest scores came when he bowled less than an over in a match.

In such a scenario, if he has to play a crucial part in the 2022 T20 World Cup, it's imperative for India to buy him as much game time as possible. Playing him in five T20Is against the Proteas could be the ideal start to building his consistency.

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#2 Team balance

Hardik's importance can be gauged by the fact that his lack of bowling handouts since 2019 led to the decoupling of one of India's most successful spin pairs - Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav - and disarrayed the entire bowling lineup.

The reason is simple - none of India's top-order and middle-order regulars chip in with the ball and take away Hardik's two to three overs (in a T20 game) forces them to drop a batter for an extra bowler, which puts more pressure on the batting lineup without majorly helping the team's overall bowling ability.

While India might refrain from going back to the two leg-spinner strategy immediately, it will certainly be a part of the future if Hardik maintains his fitness.

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#3 Leadership inputs

KL Rahul has been selected as the captain for the series with Pant as his deputy.

Although Rahul reached the top-four with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), his team selections, use of certain players and on-field tactics were often criticized. He was also flayed for not taking a more proactive approach at the top of the order - something which Gujarat's arguably lesser-gifted players did superbly.

Pant, too, was decent as a batter but lacked big scores and made a lot of unforgivable mistakes under pressure on the field which cost his team immensely.

Hardik, though still less experienced than both of them, has shown better command over both players' issues. Even if he's not being seen as a future India captain (which a large section of experts and fans believe would be wrong), he can fill the knowledge gap for the skipper and vice-captain against the Proteas.

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