Hardik Pandya Hailed as 'One in a Billion' as Former Indian Star Supports Him Amidst 2nd T20I Performance Challenges: 'You Stand Alone...'

Hardik Pandya faced criticism for his slow innings against South Africa in the 2nd T20I. The dynamic all-rounder, known for his aggressive batting, found it tough to accelerate on a challenging pitch in Gqeberha. He managed to score 39 runs off 45 balls but was questioned for playing too many dot balls during the crucial death overs by not rotating the strike. Despite having Arshdeep Singh for support at the other end, Hardik took it upon himself to lead the charge but struggled to find the boundary consistently. In the last three overs, he played 10 dot balls, including four in the final over, failing to meet expectations with his batting performance.

However, Chopra came in his support, and the conditions were not the best for batting when he came out in the middle.

"When he came to bat, the conditions were slightly difficult, the bounce was slightly up and down, and the pace was also not consistent. It seemed like he was getting slightly stuck against spin but he has got the ability to take the game till the end," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

The former cricketer turned commentator admitted that Pandya made a mistake by not giving a strike to Arshdeep, who had hit a six in the six balls he faced.

"However, I have an opinion that he should have taken singles in the end. He played many dot balls. You should have taken singles till Arshdeep was there. After that, it's okay if you didn't. Arshdeep even hit a six," Chopra observed.

Meanwhile, the former Indian opener further called Hardik a one-in-a-billion player and talked about India's recent desperate attempts to find another fast-bowling all-rounder.

"Honestly speaking and there is no recency bias in that, he is one in a billion. I am saying that because you don't have anyone else like Hardik. You are consistently trying. You are searching for different things. You played Shivam Dube. You got Venkatesh Iyer to bowl," he said.

Recently, India handed a debut to Nitish Kumar Reddy in the Bangladesh series, where he managed to impress with both bat and ball. While on the ongoing South Africa tour, India decided to fastrack Ramandeep Singh in the scheme of things.

"You got Nitish Kumar Reddy to bowl and bat. You played him up the order and now you are drafting Ramandeep Singh into the team, and all of them are getting fast-tracked. You feel you should try everyone because no one has the skillset he has, a fast-bowling all-rounder," he observed.

The four-match series is currently levelled at 1-1 as India won the first T20I in Durban by 61 runs. The third game will be played in Centurion on Wednesday.