Hardik Pandya: India's Key Weapon That Keeps Pakistan on Edge

TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Exactly a week ago, on the eve of India's first match against Pakistan, Hardik Pandya was taking absolute stunners while practising with Team India fielding coach T Dilip at the ICC Cricket Academy.The India all-rounder missed a diving catch and immediately quipped: "Agar main dive maar raha hoon iska matlab main theek se move nahi kar raha (If I am diving, it means I am not moving and anticipating quickly)."Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Pandya finished the session with a stunning running catch and got a bear hug from coach T Dilip.On Friday in Abu Dhabi, T Dilip was celebrating Pandya's running catch to dismiss Oman's Aamir Kaleem, who was looking to do the impossible. Kaleem flicked it to Pandya’s right, patrolling at fine leg. He moved rapidly, threw out his hands, and pulled off a blinder. He did very well to keep his balance too while running mere metres from the boundary rope.It was a catch that kept Oman at bay and saved India the humiliation.Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar compared Pandya with Faheem Ashraf, saying, "They bowl at a similar pace. But the only difference is attitude. Hardik is in your face, while Faheem is timid."Akhtar is partially true about Hardik, but Faheem Ashraf as an athlete is nowhere close to the Indian all-rounder. He cannot win Pakistan matches with the bat, ball, and in the field.Hardik was a pivotal cog in Virat Kohli's team across formats. With him in the XI, the term "Kulcha" was coined for the wrist-spin duo—Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. His career-threatening injury broke that partnership, because without Pandya in the XI, only one of them could fit in.In Tests, he became India's fourth seamer — a luxury to have. It is saddening that a player of Pandya's calibre has only played 11 Tests, with his last appearance in 2018. India missed him dearly in the two World Test Championship (WTC) finals. He is the balance India need in overseas Tests.Former India strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai, who has seen Pandya closely, highlighted his workload."Hardik is genetically and naturally very athletic. Very, very athletic. He has kept the benchmarks high. You won’t find such a guy who comes in the top 3 in sprint, explosiveness, and endurance. He is one of those guys," said Desai to TimesofIndia.com."Obviously, with age, your body tends to slow down. But with his work ethic, hard work, and professionalism, he has maintained the benchmarks. His bowling load is equal to Siraj, Bumrah or Shami. In batting, it’s 60-70% of Virat Kohli’s workload—preparation-wise, not game load. So imagine the physical load he faces preparing for a series or tournament," he said."That is why we need to address those cases differently," he added.Coming back to Pandya’s catch: could Pakistan’s Faheem Ashraf pluck those? Or is it only about attitude, as Akhtar suggested?Team India fielding coach T Dilip summed up Hardik's brilliance: "The very important thing is preparation. Everybody has seen that. We were spot on with high catches and boundary line catches. But the most important factor was, at that moment, how well Hardik reacted. It is never easy, especially against a sweep when the ball is travelling. Catching technique, balancing with the ropes, and awareness made it fabulous. That is something we practised, and today he executed it under pressure," Dilip said in Abu Dhabi.He also subtly touched on Pandya’s workload management. "Regarding workload, I think one thing we are very conscious of is communication—myself, bowling coach Morne Morkel, and Adrian (trainer). Whenever I push, someone else takes the back seat, and vice versa. In long camps, we focus on volume, but closer to tournaments, it’s all about specifics and intensity. With Hardik, his ability over time has been outstanding. It’s just about doing those little specifics," he said.Hardik may not be Kapil Dev, the one everyone thought he would emulate, but despite injuries and limited matches, he is the best India has got. There is a reason the management wraps him in cotton wool — they know his importance. So do former Pakistan cricketers and experts. On their shows, they talk more about Hardik than Bumrah, Kuldeep, or Suryakumar Yadav.Hardik Pandya is indeed the Indian cricketer Pakistan fears and admires the most in the current setup.