T20 World Cup: Hardik can get into the playing XI only if he bowls in warm-up games, feels Gambhir

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir has said that all-rounder Hardik Pandya has to be bowling at hundred percent in the warm-up matches to be included in Indias playing eleven for the ICC T20 World Cup.

During the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Pandya did not bowl throughout the season and managed to score just 127 runs at a strike rate of 113.39 for the Mumbai Indians.

To this, the cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir said that Pa'dya's poor form with the bat in the lucrative league means that he cannot have a spot in the Indian team if he is not bowling.

"For me, Hardik Pandya gets into India's playing XI only if he does proper bowling in both warmup games, not only in the nets," said Gambhir on Star Sports. "There is a huge difference between bowling in the nets and against quality batsmen like Babar Azam and that too in the World Cup."

"He has to bowl in the practice matches and the nets, and he has to bowl 100 percent. If you are thinking that you will come and bowl just at 115-120 kph, I will not take that risk," he added.