Hardik Pandya to be an automatic choice for the next World Cup? Indian legend makes big statement

Hardik Pandya last played an international game for India during the T20 World Cup 2021. His fitness issues was one of the major reasons why he was out of action for such a long time. Besides, he hardly bowled during the ICC tournament. The rise of Venkatesh Iyer didn't help his cause either.

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However, he was recently declared fit after his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). During Gujarat's opening game, Pandya bowled his full quota of four overs as well. Prior to this game, Sunil Gavaskar made a big statement about the all-rounder.

According to the legend, Pandya can be a certainty in the Indian squad if he continues to regularly bowl, and regularly bowl well. He also stated that the entire cricketing fraternity would be closely watching him bowl in the Indian T20 league 2022. While speaking on Star Sports, he claimed Pandya to be an "automatic selection" subject to him bowling. Hence, his opinion instantly went viral.

"Whether Hardik Pandya will bowl, how many overs he will bowl, will also be something which not just the Gujarat, but the entire cricketing fraternity will be looking forward to. Because if he starts to bowl and bowl well, with his batting ability, make no mistake, he will become an automatic selection for the World T20," said Sunil Gavaskar.

Although Pandya gave 37 runs in his four overs against Lucknow, he looked fairly decent. Moreover, he promoted himself in the batting order as he came to bat at four during the second innings. The Gujarat skipper scored 33 from 28 balls.

His side also ended up winning their first game in the league. This comes as a promising sign for him as a leader. Hence, all the Indian fans would hope that he not only plays well, but also starts to regularly bowl. As far as the upcoming T20 WC is concerned, then that shall take place during October 2022, in Australia.