New Delhi: Hardik Pandya is on the verge of achieving a historic feat for India in their upcoming five-match T20I series against England at home. The five-match series will mark India’s return to white-ball cricket after their 3-1 defeat against Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Hardik will be one of the players to watch out for India in the series.
The star all-rounder will be making his India comeback after six months as he doesn’t play Test cricket for the country. With the Champions Trophy set to get underway in February, Hardik will be hoping to use the white-ball series against England as the preparatory ground for the multi-nation tournament where India will play all their matches in the UAE.
The T20I series against England will be a crucial one for Hardik as he is on the cusp of becoming the first Indian player to have scored more than 1500 runs and taken 100 wickets in T20Is. Hardik currently has 1700 runs and 89 wickets to his name in 109 T20Is for India. The star all-rounder needs only 11 wickets in the 5-match series against England to achieve the historic feat.
Hardik will not only become the first player from India to score 1500 runs and take 100 wickets in T20Is but also only the second player in the world to do so after Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has 2551 runs and 149 wickets to his name in the shortest format.
India-England T20I series to get underway on Wednesday
The five-match T20I series between India and England is all set to get underway on Wednesday, January 22 with the 1st T20I at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Both teams have already reached Kolkata and have been training ahead of the series opener. Suryakumar Yadav-led India will be hoping to get off to a winning start in the series with a victory in Kolkata on Wednesday.
India have named a strong squad for the T20I series with a star-studded batting line-up featuring the likes of Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar, Hardik and Rinku Singh among others. India also have an equally strong bowling line-up with senior pacer Mohammed Shami set to make his comeback after a long spell on the sidelines.
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is on the verge of achieving a historic feat in the upcoming five-match T20I series against England. Hardik needs 11 wickets in the series to become the first Indian player to achieve a remarkable milestone. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
