Hardik will do special things in World Cup: Yuvraj

Mumbai, May 3

Yuvraj Singh, the hero of India’s victorious campaign in the 2011 World Cup, is expecting “special performances” from all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the 2019 edition, to be played in the UK from May 30.

Pandya has come through testing times in the last few months, having served an interim suspension for making sexist and disparaging comments on women on a popular chat show. He was also fined by the BCCI Ombudsman over that controversy. The 25-year-old has been in great form in the IPL and his Mumbai Indians teammate Yuvraj hopes that he would extend his explosive run to the 50-over mega event. “I was actually having this conversation with him (Hardik) yesterday, where I told him that ‘you have a great chance of performing really well with the ball and bat’, the kind of form he is in at the moment,” Yuvraj said.

“The way he is batting at the moment, it is phenomenal and I hope he carries that form (into the World Cup). He has been bowling well in patches but as I said it is all about how you handle the pressure,” he added.

‘Best IPL knock’

Pandya has been in the form of his life and Yuvraj said that his 91 against the Kolkata Knight Riders was the best IPL innings he has seen. “It is probably the best shape as a batsman to get in. I have been watching since the practice games, he was hitting the ball really well. I had told him ‘it is going to be a special tournament for you, the way you are hitting the ball’,” said the southpaw.

“Over the years, as an experienced player you know if someone is hitting the ball well, he is in great shape,” said Yuvraj. “He got 91 from 34 balls against KKR, probably that is the best innings I have seen in the IPL just because he hit four quality bowlers he was batting against. When you are doing that, you know that someone is batting very well.”

The Man of the Tournament of the 2011 World Cup also backed India, hosts England and Australia to do well in the mega event. “My first two teams are England and India. Obviously with (David) Warner and (Steve) Smith coming back, Australia will be in contention,” said Yuvraj. — PTI