Virat Kohli made biggest mistake by playing this player against Pakistan – Inzamam-ul-Haq

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was surprised to see Hardik Pandya in the playing XI against the Men in Green. He said India didn’t get their composition right as they were short of a sixth bowler, who could have helped the team against Pakistan. India lost the opening match of the ICC T20 World Cup by 10 wickets.

“India’s biggest setback was because they played Hardik Pandya. India were not right with their team selection. Babar Azam knew exactly what he was doing with his XI but India were not,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel.

Hardik, who scored 11 runs off 8 balls after walking in to bat at No.7 on Sunday in Dubai, was hit on the shoulder while going for a pull shot off Shaheen Afridi’s bowling in the 19th over.

Inzamam further added Pandya showing that he was hurt gave the impression that India were under pressure in the most important game of the tournament.

“I did not think it was the right thing for Pandya to point towards his shoulder after being hit. When you play a high-voltage match like this, you don’t give a clue to the opposition even when you are hurt. I have seen Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar get hit but they didn’t use to rub that part. They gave no clue that they were hurt. I immediately got a clue that India were under pressure when Pandya grabbed his shoulders. That was not a good sign. He didn’t come out for fielding, didn’t bowl,” said the former Pakistan batter.

Inzy explained that the absence of a sixth bowler hurt India’s chances. He stated that Babar Azam made a smart move by introducing Mohammad Hafeez for a few overs.

“If India played the sixth bowler, then it would have been better. Look at how playing Mohammad Hafeez gave an advantage to Babar Azam. He got two overs out of the way by using Hafeez instead of bowling four from Imad Wasim. They had Shoaib Malik too,” he added.