“Love it”: Stuart Broad expresses admiration for Hardik Pandya’s headband in Colombo ODI

Hardik Pandya’s headband: The Indian all-rounder was seen in a slightly different avatar in the first ODI against Sri Lanka.

During the first ODI of the ongoing India’s tour of Sri Lanka in Colombo, India all-rounder pair of Pandya brothers remained in spotlight in the first innings.

It was a massive relief for the Indian fans when captain Shikhar Dhawan introduced Hardik Pandya into the attack as a first-change bowler. Hardik Pandya, who has bowled inconsistently in both international cricket and Indian Premier League since a back surgery in 2019, adds a lot to the Indian XI even if he bowls a few overs in ODIs.

In the five overs that Hardik Pandya bowled, he leaked 33 runs while bowling in the powerplay dismissing Isuru Udana (8) in the process.

Krunal Pandya, on the other hand, did his best to emulate the role played by the man he has replaced – Ravindra Jadeja. Bowling his full quota of overs, Krunal Pandya was the most economical Indian bowler with figures of 10-1-26-1 as he forced Dhananjaya de Silva (14) to play an aerial shot in the 25th over.

Stuart Broad expresses admiration for Hardik Pandya’s headband in Colombo ODI

In addition to bowling, Hardik Pandya also enticed eyeballs due to his headband joining a long list of fast bowlers who don a headband while bowling.

Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad, who is an active member of this list, took to social media platform Twitter to express admiration for Hardik Pandya’s headband. “Love it,” wrote Broad while retweeting a comparison post by ESPNcricinfo.

Broad, 35, had last played for England during a two-match Test series against New Zealand last month. A veteran of 148 Tests, Broad is highly likely play a huge role in the upcoming five-match Test series between England and India starting from August 4.