A day after Hardik Pandya was retained as the vice-captain to Rohit Sharma in India's 15-member squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is of the opinion that there is no reason to be worried about Hardik Pandya's form going into the marquee event.
In 10 IPL games for the Mumbai Indians so far, Pandya has scored just 197 runs and taken six wickets as his team languishes at the bottom of the points table.
In a conversation with Sports Today, Gavaskar remarked, 'There's a big difference playing in the IPL and playing for your country. Playing for your country brings out something different in every player and Hardik Pandya will be a different player.'
The 74-year-old veteran sided with Pandya, who has faced numerous issues coming into the 2024 IPL season, including being booed by fans for taking over as the Mumbai skipper.
'He's had to face a lot of issues in this particular tournament (IPL), he's handled it quite well. When he goes overseas and has to play for India, I think he will be in a completely different frame of mind,' said Gavaskar.
Certain of the 30-year-old striking form in the USA and West Indies, Gavaskar added, 'And that's going to be a much more positive frame of mind than maybe what we have seen here in this tournament. So, Hardik Pandya will make a contribution with both bat and ball in this tournament.'