Hardik Pandya’s bowling changes looked a bit confused: Abhinav Mukund

Abhinav Mukund. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Former India international Abhinav Mukund expressed his disappointment in Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. Notably, in the series finale, India suffered an embarrassing eight-wicket defeat at the hands of West Indies in Florida following which, the Men in Blue have been subjected to massive criticism. The batting unit once again failed to make a significant mark while skipper Hardik Pandya wasn’t very accurate with the bowling changes as per Mukund.

The cricketer-turned-analyst mentioned that Axar Patel should have opened the bowling alongside Arshdeep Singh but the spinner eventually bowled only one over. He also added saying that the team changed its strategy because of the rain but it wasn’t required.

“Hardik Pandya’s bowling changes looked a bit confused. And I say confused because I think the rain played a part in choosing who was going to bowl in the powerplay. I would have started with Axar Patel which was the winning formula in the last match. Axar Patel should have started the bowling with the new ball with Arshdeep Singh,” Mukund said while talking to JioCinema.

“Personally, I would not have changed things too much from the 4th T20I. I think India were worried about the bad weather cutting 5 overs of play,” the 33-year-old added.

Hardik Pandya tries Jaiswal and Tilak as experiment with bowling continues

India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey previously confirmed that the team management will try Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma with the ball but experimenting with them in the final T20I, especially with the series on the line was a brave call from Hardik Pandya. Notably, Jaiswal bowled one over and conceded 11 runs while Tilak Varma conceded 17 runs in his two overs and also picked up a wicket.

The youngster’s bowling might make a lot of sense in the long run but as of now, it doesn’t look to be the case as Team India suffered another crushing defeat. Axar Patel, who was bowling well, was given only one over in the middle as the team management continued to experiment with the unit ahead of Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023.