Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya is all set to seal his spot in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 co-hosted by West Indies and United States of America due to the 'There Is No Alternative' (TINA) factor. As reported by Press Trust of India (PTI), the Indian all-rounder faces no competition for his spot as the other contenders do not bat and bowl as consistently as the Mumbai Indians skipper.
The deadline for the announcement of the temporary 18-man squad (15 member squad + 3 reserves) is May 1 and with the deadline approaching, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is under immense pressure and headache of choosing the best players out of a pool of highly amazing and world-class players.
PIT had released a list of players that were under the category of 'Automatic Selections', which included the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya was in the list as well. However, such reports act as a discouragement to the likes of Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag, who are extremely talented players and are performing exceptionally well in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 for their respective franchises.
Hardik Pandya's Dismal Indian Premier League 2024 In Numbers
Hardik Pandya has not been having a good IPL 2024 as the players is getting immense amount of bashing from left, right, and centre, be it on the field, or off the field. Ever since the 30-year old replaced legendary Rohit Sharma as the captain of Mumbai Indians, he has been getting immense hatred and fans in live attendance during MI's fixtures have let their voices been heard with their constant booing of thr player.
This has some or the other way, affected the performances of Hardik Pandya, as the player has so far managed merely 151 runs in 8 innings, and has no fifties to his name. In the bowling department, the all-rounder has sluggish performances with only 4 wickets in 6 innings, at a poor economy rate of 10.94, which is highly concerning.