Not Rohit and Virat, but THIS player can make India the T20 World champions, says Shane Watson

Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson made a massive statement ahead of India’s T20 World Cup 2022 opening match against Pakistan. He showered praise on Hardik Pandya, saying the flamboyant all-rounder can make India a T20 champion again on his own. 

In an interview with the Times of India, Watson spoke about India’s World Cup chances and heaped praise on Pandya. The 41-year-old said that Pandya is not just a finisher but a power-hitter too and has got all the skills; he can help India win the World Cup single-handedly.

“Hardik Pandya is a talented cricketer. When he’s bowling, the way he is paced up at 140s is amazing. He’s just got great skill and he’s got a great ability to take wickets and also defend runs. His batting just continues to go through the roof. He’s not just a finisher, he’s a power hitter too. He’s got all the skills. We’ve seen him in the last IPL. He can win the T20 World Cup on his own. He is truly a match-winner,” Watson said.

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Shane Watson showers praise on Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli  had suffered from a rough patch for the past couple of months. It was until the Asia Cup 2022 that Kohli started playing without getting dismissed cheaply. He also ended his century drought by scoring a match-winning ton against Afghanistan in India’s last Super 4 match in that tournament; it was also his maiden T20I ton. 

In that same interview with TOI, Shane Watson stated the importance of taking a break that helped Kohli re-energize his batteries. Notably, Kohli had taken a one-month break ahead of the Asia Cup 2022 and had made the much-needed comeback to the Indian team.

“Virat is batting very nicely right now. The way he played against Australia alone, a couple of those innings, and the way he batted, he was at his best. Some of those shots that he played were amazing. Virat is batting at his absolute best. He definitely needed a break just to be able to re-energize his batteries. And you can see the way he has made a comeback into the Indian team. The way he’s batting, he’s going to play a key role for India in the T20 World Cup,” Watson added.

Talking about the T20 World Cup opening match which took place on Sunday [October 23] at the MCG in Melbourne, India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by four wickets. Kohli was the hero of the match with his unbeaten 82-run knock off 53 balls. When Pakistani pacers outclassed the top Indian batters- KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav, the duo of Kohli and Pandya steadied the ship with their 113-run partnership.

Pandya displayed his all-around performance when he dismissed Shad Massod, Hyder Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz, while with the bat, he played supporter to Kohli and scored 40 runs off 37 balls. India ended up winning the classic clash by four wickets when Men in Blue chased down the 160-run target following the last-over drama. 

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