AB de Villiers reveals India’s key player in T20 WC 2026 and it’s not Abhishek Sharma or Jasprit Bumrah

Former South African batter AB de Villiers has revealed that the Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya would play a pivotal role for the Men In Blue in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, scheduled to start on Saturday, February 6, in India and Sri Lanka.

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Speaking exclusively on his YouTube channel, the former Proteas dashing batter has asserted that the Indian team has a lot of players who can offer their skills with both the bat and the ball, enhancing the balance of the squad.

"There are a lot of players offering skill with both bat and ball, so you can really play around with the balance of the squad," AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

"Abhishek Sharma upfront, Sanju Samson wicketkeeper. I noted no Rishabh Pant here, no Shubman Gill, no Yashasvi Jaiswal, no Jitesh Sharma, so those are the unlucky guys who missed out," he added.

"Hardik will be the big pivotal player. He's the guy who can win you games with bat and bowl. He can bowl in any situation, he can bat anywhere in the line up," he stated.

"When he walks out to bat, there's a sense in the opposition like we need to get him out, we're gonna lose the game if he bats for three or four overs,” he noted.

"Same with the ball in hand, the minute he comes on, you feel like he has a golden arm and he might just break the partnership, so a great asset for Suryakumar (Yadav) to have in the team," he concluded.

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In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 season, Hardik scored his maiden List A century, amassing 133 runs off 92 balls for Baroda against Vidarbha. Moreover, in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, he racked up 142 runs in three innings at an average of 71.00 and a strike rate of 186.84, with two half-centuries.

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