Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s stature has increased massively in the last year or so. Along with his batting, Pandya has brushed up his skills with the ball as well and his pace bowling is vital for Team India’s balance. However, Pandya once revealed that he used to be a leg-spinner.
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In conversation with commentator Harsha Bhogle, Pandya said that he used to bowl leg spin for his state side. Pandya insisted that he even perfected legendary spinner Shane Warne’s flipper and picked 30 wickets in one season in U-16 cricket. He even sent his video to Warne to get the legend’s feedback.
Warne was arguably the best bowler to bowl the ‘flipper’. Unfortunately, Warne died last year due to a suspected heart attack. Warne once labeled Pandya as a ‘Rockstar’ and put him in his Top-Three players on the planet.
Hardik Pandya Once Revealed How He Picked 30 Wickets in a Season as a Leg-Spinner
Pandya had said that he even informed former India captain MS Dhoni about his leg-spin talent and the wicket-keeper was elated that he stopped. Pandya then switched to pace bowling later on and considering the lack of fast-bowling all-rounders, he certainly has been a big find.
“I Told MS Dhoni that I used to Bowl leg spin in 2013, Dhoni told me, ‘Good you stopped, otherwise you wouldn’t have played for India’,” Hardik Pandya had told Cricbuzz in the past.
“I perfected Shane Warne’s flipper and picked around 30 wickets in a season in U-16.”
Pandya stopped bowling spin after 2013 and he got his maiden Indian Premier League contract with Mumbai Indians in 2015. His India debut came in 2016 against Australia in a T20I match.
Kiran More called Hardik Pandya ‘unplayable’ as leg-spinner
Former Indian wicket-keeper Kiran More also once said that Pandya was unplayable in the nets as a spinner. Pandya used to go to More’s Academy in Baroda. Talking to Sony Sports Network, More revealed Pandya just wanted to bowl quicker in the nets and that’s why he left that art despite being great at it.
“Hardik Pandya started as a batsman leg-spinner from Baroda in my academy. He was unplayable in the nets,” More had said.
Pandya has so far scalped 72 ODI, 69 T20I and 17 Test wickets for India. In Overall T20s, he has picked 148 wickets. Considering the quality and competition among the spinners, it would have been tough for Pandya to make a break.
