Gavaskar urges India to stop seeking Hardik Pandya replacement
Sunil Gavaskar said India should stop seeking a like-for-like replacement for Hardik Pandya and instead focus on building a balanced bowling attack.
Sunil Gavaskar said India should stop searching for a direct replacement for Hardik Pandya after the five-match T20I series against the West Indies ended in a 2-2 draw. The former India captain argued that Pandya remains irreplaceable and urged selectors to focus on building a balanced attack with four specialist bowlers instead.
Gavaskar praised Naman Dhir for fulfilling a different role, noting the batter's unbeaten 24 off six balls in the rain-hit decider at Bengaluru. He recommended that all-rounders like Dhir and Axar Patel can contribute two to four overs each while maintaining depth in the batting order.
Aakash Chopra suggested Hardik Pandya could improve his prospects by moving to Kolkata Knight Riders or Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the IPL 2027 auction, where he would receive captaincy responsibilities.
CricHubb Take
India's approach to squad construction now faces a structural choice: whether to chase one player who covers multiple roles or to accept a distributed workload across specialists and part-time bowlers. The second option requires trusting depth over star power.