Legendary South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes has praised Hardik Pandya for his heroics in India’s triumph at the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean. Rhodes was particularly impressed by the way Pandya performed in the final against South Africa in Barbados.
The Indian all-rounder had snatched the precious scalp of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller to completely change the course of the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa. Notably, India crushed South Africa by 7 runs to clinch their second T20 World Cup title after 17 years in June 2024.
Jonty Rhodes hails Hardik Pandya’s heroics in 2024 T20 World Cup final
Reflecting on Hardik Pandya’s performance, Rhodes highlighted the all-rounder’s explosive impact, both with bat and ball. He mentioned that the way Pandya, despite facing adversity, stood firm and played a crucial role in India’s title triumph was nothing short of spectacular.
He further stressed Pandya’s importance as an all-rounder, emphasising that his effectiveness depends on his ability to bowl at full speed, which is crucial to maximising his value to the team.
The legendary cricketer further said that Pandya remains a vital element for his team’s success and proved it with his game-changing performances despite battling many injuries and pains in his career.
Hardik Pandya’s efforts were equal to Jasprit Bumrah’s in the final: Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes was quoted by Sports Yaari as saying, “Well, he is an important piece in any team when he is bowling well and/or when he is bowling at full speed and when he is batting. So, we know what he does with the bat. We have seen him batting up and down the order. He certainly has an impact wherever he plays, but he is also the kind of guy who is picked as an all-rounder and is seen as an all-rounder.
So if he can’t bowl at his top pace, you almost feel like you’re not getting the best out of Hardik Pandya, and then does he deserve his place in the team? And he’s certainly shown that in… and it’s difficult for me to know exactly how much pain he went through and the injuries he had to endure. You know? Was he bowling at his top pace?
Could he do it without pain? But he is a guy like that, and the key in cricket is partnerships, and we always talk, we believe, about batting partnerships, but bowling in partnerships is crucial because if Jasprit Bumrah had bowled his magnificent over and yet the next over had added four runs, then that good over would have been for nothing.”
Rhodes attributes Pandya’s heroic performance in T20 World Cup 2024 to tough IPL 2024
Jonty Rhodes also pointed out that Hardik Pandya was going through a lot of pressure during IPL 2024 where he faced a lot of hate and boos from fans for replacing Rohit Sharma for Mumbai Indians (MI). On the personal front, he was on the verge of divorcing Natasa Stankovic.
Despite all this, the Indian all-rounder stood firm and saved his best for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rhodes said that “the tough IPL just pushed him and made him stronger emotionally and mentally,” which eventually helped him become a stronger hero for India at the mega event.
Jonty Rhodes said that this season has proved that Hardik can handle pressure situations as he was under a lot of pressure in the IPL 2024. In the end, the Proteas great said that this tough season played a key role in Hardik’s emergence as a hero in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Jonty Rhodes: Hardik Pandya was mentally and emotionally drained, but the tough time he had with Mumbai Indians during the IPL helped him toughen up (for T20 World Cup) @hardikpandya7
– Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) September 3, 2024
