India Should Not Give Hardik Pandya That Much Priority: Irfan Pathan Ahead Of T20 World Cup 2024 Squad Announcement

Irfan Pathan On Hardik Pandya Ahead Of T20 World Cup 2024 Squad Announcement: The former India cricketer reckons that Mumbai Indians captain shouldn't be given that much priority.

Even as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 fever has gripped the entire country, fans are anticipating India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 with the marquee ICC event set to commence soon after the cash-rich league. The tournament will be played in the USA and the Caribbean Islands and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to announce the squad in the coming few days.

Days before the India squad selection, ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has made his stance on Hardik Pandya very clear. He reckons that the Indian cricket board should not give Hardik that much priority as he has been given in the current scheme of things. Notably, Hardik sustained an injury during the ODI World Cup 2023 which eventually ruled him out of the tournament. IPL 2024 is his first high-pressure competitive tournament since then.

Hardik Pandya Hasn't Made Impact As An All-Rounder At International Level: Pathan

While interacting with the media on the Star Sports Press Room, Pathan also said that Hardik is yet to make an impact as an all-rounder at the international level.

READ HERE | Harsha Bhogle Picks His India Squad For T20 World Cup 2024

"What I feel about Hardik Pandya is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him that much priority as they have given him so far, because we still haven’t won the World Cup. And if you think you are a primary all-rounder, you need to make that kind of an impact at the international level," Pathan told the media in a conference which ABP Live also attended on the Star Sports Press Room.

"As far as the all-rounder is concerned he hasn’t made that impact at the international level, we are only thinking about the potential. We are getting confused between the IPL performances and the international performances. That’s a big difference," he added.

"First of all he needs to play throughout the full year. He cannot pick and choose. Indian cricket needs to stop doing that. Stop giving preferences to individuals, if you do that, you will not be winning major tournaments. What Australia has been doing for many years is that they are actually preferring the team game. Making everyone a superstar. Not one superstar, everybody is a superstar in the squad. If you don’t do that, you will not win big tournament," he said.