‘But Hardik doesn’t have to be a Dhoni’ – Former India cricketer’s bold remark after Hardik Pandya denied Tilak Varma his half century

Team India won the third T20I against the West Indies on August 8 in Guyana. Notably, India star batter Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 49 runs after skipper Hardik Pandya smashed a six to finish the game. Following this incident, several cricket fans and pundits criticized the Indian all-rounder for not giving Varma an opportunity to finish his consecutive fifty.

Meanwhile, speaking on the same subject, former India cricketer turned analyst Aakash Chopra backed Gujarat Titians’ skipper and called this incident an interesting one. “It’s an interesting one. Hardik Pandya has been trolled a lot and has been criticized. But there’s another school of thought that says, why are you talking about milestones in T20 cricket? So, that was quite in the middle of conversation,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, Cricket Ki Chaupal.

Notably, after this occurrence, several cricket fans compared the third T20I incident with Legendary skipper MS Dhoni. During the 2014 T20 World Cup semifinal match, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni were playing, and just one run was needed at that time to win the match from seven balls. MS was on strike, but he didn’t score any runs, as the legendary cricketer wanted Virat Kohli to finish, who was batting at 67 runs.

But Hardik Pandya doesn’t have to be a Dhoni: Aakash Chopra

Speaking of the same, the former India opener said that the 29-year-old cricketer doesn’t have to be MS Dhoni, despite Pandya considering the former India skipper his idol.

“I remember once MS Dhoni played a forward defensive shot because there was Virat Kohli at the other end. He wanted him to finish it off, he didn’t want to take the limelight. But Hardik doesn’t have to be a Dhoni, even if he considers him an idol,” he added further.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya and Co. will be gearing up to level up the five-match T20I series on August 12 in Florida, USA.