'I feel he should be given more credit for what he does' - Former India batter on Hardik Pandya after Asia Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan

Team India is currently locking horns in the Asia Cup 2023 which is taking place in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The first match of the campaign against Pakistan resulted in a draw as the match was called off due to rain after the completion of the first innings. India’s second fixture of the group stage is against Nepal on Monday, September 4 at the Pallekele Internationational Cricket Stadium, in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

After the match, former India batter, Aakash Chopra praised star all-rounder, Hardik Pandya for his brilliant knock under pressure in the tournament. The right-hand batter scored 87 runs off 90 balls with seven fours and a six in his innings. His knock helped the Men in Blue to post a 267-run target for the Green Brigade. "Hardik Pandya's story is very good. I feel he should be given more credit for what he does. He saves his best for the big match, that's something that we should all admire and acknowledge," Chopra was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

That would have been a problem but Hardik Pandya was brilliant: Aakash Chopra

"You can troll him as much as you want, but whenever he plays against Pakistan, whether it was the 2017 Champions Trophy, the 2022 T20 World Cup, the last Asia Cup, or this match, whenever there is pressure and the Indian team is struggling, he is the guy. He comes and scores runs," the former right hand batter added. Chopra highlighted that Pandya along with Ishan Kishan took India to a respectable total after the failure of the top order.

"Here also, they were stuck at one stage. You were 66/4. If another wicket had fallen, because when he and Ishan Kishan eventually got out, the team fell like a cycle stand. You couldn't play the entire 50 overs," the commentator asserted. "So if they had been dismissed earlier, you would have been dismissed by the 35th over or probably the 28th over. So that would have been a problem but Hardik Pandya was brilliant," the 45-year-old concluded.