Pandya scored 402 runs from 16 matches at an average of 44.6. He remained the third-highest six-hitter with 29 maximums. At the same time, he also scalped 14 wickets in the tournament.
His stellar performance has impressed former Indian opener and 2-time World Cup winner Virender Sehwag as he stated that there is no all-rounder in the Indian team who is as good as Hardik Pandya.
“There is no one even close to Hardik Pandya's talent with both bat and ball. If there was someone even closer to him—the three-dimensional players picked by BCCI—Pandya would not have made it back into the team,” Sehwag said.
A testimony to his all-round ability was the fact that Pandya had won a man of the match for his bowling performance in MI's final group game of the season against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Pandya's 2/20 in three overs helped secure a convincing nine-wicket win for MI and knocked out KKR from the top four contentions. “For sure, getting a 'Man of the Match' for my bowling is really pleasing. To be honest as a batsman, there is nothing better than hitting a ball. People don't expect a lot from my bowling, neither do I, but it feels nice,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Pandya will be expected to play a crucial role if India are to stay true to the favourite tag and win the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.