Rohit Sharma-led India stormed their way into the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals with a 21-run win over Australia in their last Super 8 clash on Monday (June 24) in St Lucia. With this, the Men in Blue kept their winning run intact in the mega event being held in West Indies and the USA.

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Ahead of their semifinal clash, where they face defending champions England on Thursday (June 27) in Guyana, former Indian pacer S Sreesanth compared Hardik Pandya with former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and made a bold claim. Sreesanth feels in-form Hardik can do what Yuvraj did for India in their victorious run in the 2011 ODI World Cup at home, with his all-round abilities.

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Hardik has chipped in with 8 wickets and scored 116 crucial runs so far in the showpiece tournament, with skipper Rohit also terming him India’s ‘key player’.

Sreesanth lauded Hardik and said on Star Sports, after India’s win over Australia, “The last conference where he (Rohit Sharma) said Hardik Pandya is a key player in the team. What Yuvraj Singh did in the 2011 as an all-rounder, with bat, with ball and his fielding, I think Hardik is very much capable of doing that in this T20 World Cup. I think none of us will be surprised if Rohit lifts the trophy.”

Hardik entered the ongoing 20-nation T20 WC on the back of a very poor run in the IPL 2024 edition.

The all-rounder returned to competitive cricket during this year’s IPL after an injury during last year’s ODI WC at home, in October-November.

Hardik replaced Rohit as the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain but failed to make any impact with bat and ball.

Under Hardik, MI ended 10th and many raised fingers at him ahead of the T20 WC. However, the 30-year-old has returned to his usual best in Indian colours during the ICC event. 

Hardik has made an impact in every game so far, including a Player-of-the-Match performance during India’s Super 8 win versus Bangladesh (with a 50 not out and 1 for 32). The veteran will be eager to carry on in a similar stead in the upcoming semifinal versus England.

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