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    STUMP VISION                                                           MARCH 20, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 42

                                           HARDIK PANDYA:

              India’s All-Round Powerhouse -

              Leader, Finisher, Match-Winner

                      Looking at his recent T20I form between September 2025 and February 2026,

                Pandya has been a complete all-round performer. He picked up important wickets like
                                           2/16 against Pakistan and 2/21 against Namibia

            ARCHAN MEHTA                                                                                              In the 2026 T20 World Cup, he
                                                                                                                  continued this strong form. His best
                   ver the past decade, Har-                                                                      performance came in the Super
                   dik  Pandya  has  grown                                                                        Eights match against Zimbabwe at
            Ofrom a young fast-bowling                                                                            Chepauk, where he scored 50 not
            all-rounder into one of the most im-                                                                  out off 23 balls and won Player of
            portant players for the India nation-                                                                 the Match. He built a fast partner-
            al cricket team. His journey has not                                                                  ship with Tilak Varma and adjust-
            just been about big shots and high-                                                                   ed his batting by focusing more
            light moments, but about improving                                                                    on timing than raw power. With
            himself for big matches. In the 2016                                                                  the ball, he bowled 0/21 in three
            T20 World Cup, he mainly played                                                                       overs, delivering eight dot balls and
            as a lower-order hitter and a wick-                                                                   swinging the ball both ways to set
            et-taking bowler. He scored only 15                                                                   the tone early.
            against Bangladesh and 1 against                                                                          As a leader, Hardik has also
            New Zealand, but his bowling made                                                                     shown maturity. After Rohit Shar-
            a big impact. Spells like 2/29 against                                                                ma’s captaincy phase, many believed
            Bangladesh and 2/36 against Austra-                                                                   Hardik could be the next T20 captain
            lia showed that he could deliver un-                                                                  for India, but the role was given to
            der pressure.                                                                                         Suryakumar Yadav. Hardik accept-
                From 2021 onwards, his role                                                                       ed the  decision professionally  and
            changed in a big way. He was no                                                                       continued  to  perform without any
            longer just supporting the team; he                                                                   change  in  attitude. That  response
            became the player India relied on in                                                                  showed his commitment to the team
            tough situations.                                                                                     above personal ambition.
                In the 2022 T20 World Cup, he                                                                         At the franchise level with the
            showed great character with a fight-                                                                  Mumbai  Indians,  he  faced  heavy
            ing 40 against Pakistan and an at-                                                                    criticism when he took over cap-
            tacking  63  in  the  semi-final  against                                                             taincy from Rohit Sharma. The fan
            England. His biggest moment came                                                                      reaction was intense and emotional,
            in  the  2024  T20  World  Cup  final                                                                 but Hardik stood firm, handled the
            against South Africa, where he took                                                                   pressure, and kept focusing on the
            3/20 in three overs to help India win                                                                 team’s needs. Not many players can
            the title. By this stage, Pandya was                                                                  deal with that level of scrutiny and
            not just contributing; he was decid-                                                                  still perform. It showed resilience
            ing matches.                                                                                          and strong character.
                Looking at his recent T20I form                                                                       As India lift another T20 World
            between September 2025 and Febru-                                                                     Cup, Hardik Pandya’s role has been
            ary 2026, Pandya has been a complete                                                                  central. He is India’s “Mr. Clutch”,
            all-round performer. He picked up                                                                     the player who must deliver in the
            important wickets like 2/16 against                                                                   crunch moments with both bat and
            Pakistan and 2/21 against Namibia.   In the 2026 T20 World Cup, he continued this strong form. His best performance came in the   ball. In knockout cricket, one spell,
            With the bat, he scored useful runs:   Super Eights match against Zimbabwe at Chepauk, where he scored 50 not out off 23 balls and   one partnership, or one fearless in-
            52 against Namibia and an unbeaten                                                                    nings can change history. And when
            50 against Zimbabwe. Batting flexi-                     won Player of the Match (ANI)                 the stage got bigger and the pressure
            bly at No. 5 or 6, he usually takes a                                                                 got heavier, India looked to Hardik
            few balls to settle in. Once he cross-  sharply, often going above 180 and   He attacks smartly, choosing the   to rise again, because when he deliv-
            es 30 runs, his strike rate increases   even touching 200 in the final overs.   right moments to dominate.  ers, trophies follow.

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