'Yuvraj Was in a Different League. Hardik and Jadeja, with Due Respect, Aren't Quite There'

It has been 12 years since India won the 50-over World Cup and one of the memories which is still fresh in the minds of fans and experts is Yuvraj Singh’s heroics. Back in 2011, the former all-rounder was picked in the squad despite being out of form but what he did in the showpiece event is now a benchmark. The southpaw bagged the Player of the Tournament award for his spectacular show with the bat and ball; scoring 362 runs and picking up 15 wickets in 9 games.

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As the World Cup returns to India, the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will be expected to pull off what Yuvraj did 12 years back. But it turned out to be a matter of debate when former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar and Pakistan’s bowling legend Waqar Younis had a discussion over the importance of all-rounder in a multi-nation event.

Speaking on Star Sports during the rain break in the India vs Pakistan Super 4 clash on Sunday, Waqar emphasized that any team would like to have players like Jadeja and Pandya.

“Look at what Hardik and Jadeja bring to the table. They are well equipped with both bat and ball. Especially Hardik Pandya – the way he batted against Pakistan – I think he is a really destructive batter at No. 6. Any team would love to have someone like him. He is aggressive, and now as we saw in the previous match, he is very sensible and smart,” the former Pakistan pacer said.

“He played like a champion. He took his time and when the time was right, he pushed his natural game. I feel that these 2 at No. 6 and 7 will give India that push. All they want to do is not lose early wickets. If you give these 2 last 10 overs, they can chase the game pretty quickly,” he added.

On the other hand, Manjrekar opined that the duo of Pandya and Jadeja cannot be India’s pick to perform like Yuvraj.

“Yuvraj is arguably India’s best white-ball batter. He could win games and was in a different league. Hardik and Jadeja, with due respect, aren’t quite there. These 2 are far better bowlers than Yuvraj Singh…,” Manjrekar explained before Waqar interrupted and asked, “Not even Hardik Pandya? With the kind of batting that he has shown? I am not comparing them but the intention is there.”

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Answering Waqar’s question, Manjrekar pointed out there’s no guarantee that Pandya will bowl his full quota of 10 overs.

“He [Pandya] has the potential but when I see him at this stage, it’s not a guarantee that he will come and bowl all 10 overs like one of the mainstream bowlers. I see him as more of a batting all-rounder and he batted really well in the last game. So yes, they have this combined skill to make the kind of contribution made but one discipline of Yuvraj Singh, like I said, was at a different level. In pitches that help Jadeja the bowler, his batting will come through but Hardik the batter doesn’t need a bad ball or loose ball to decide that this needs to go,” he mentioned.