Hardik Pandya, who is the captain of the Indian cricket team in the ongoing T20I series against West Indies, was subjected to plenty of criticism on social media after the third T20I on Tuesday. Despite India winning comfortably chasing a target of 160 runs, Hardik has received a lot of flat for a strange reason. He hit a six on what turned out to be the last ball of the match to finish the chase, despite the fact that the non-striker Tilak Varma needed only 1 run to complete his half-century.
Many users on social media termed the act as selfish. Now, renowned sports commentator Harsha Bhogle commented on the issue. "I am puzzled by the discussion around Tilak Varma missing out on a 50. It isn't a landmark, in fact other than a century (which is rare), there are no landmarks in T20 cricket. We are far too obsessed with individual achievement within a team sport. I don't believe 50s should be recorded in individual stats in T20 cricket. If you have made enough runs quickly enough (avg and SR), that is all that matters," Harsha Bhogle posted on X.
To that post, South Africa great Ab de Villiers replied: "Thank you thank you thank you. Finally someone says it!"
Varma, who made his T20I debut in the series, has been one of the most consistent batters in the team. In his last three matches, Varma scored 39, 51 and 49* respectively, emerging as a true pillar in a young team despite his age.
India now trail the 5-match T20I series against West Indies 1-2.