I shouldn’t have played that shot, admits Pandya

Hardik Pandya, the budding all-rounder, still looking to cement his place as a vital cog in team, realises how a wrong choice of shot in the last One-Day International in Kolkata not only spelt his doom but also raised England’s prospects of ending the series with a win.

Hardik Pandya... hoping to do well in the T20Is against England.

Though the hard way, Hardik Pandya is slowly learning to understand the responsibility that comes with the expectations that skipper Virat Kohli has from him in the shorter version of the game.

The budding all-rounder, still looking to cement his place as a vital cog in team, realises how a wrong choice of shot in the last One-Day International in Kolkata not only spelt his doom but also raised England’s prospects of ending the series with a win.

Listen to Pandya's interaction with the media

“I shouldn’t have played that shot (in Kolkata), but I felt the asking rate was climbing and someone had to take a chance. Kedar (Jadhav) was the one who would have stayed until the end and I was the one who should take the risks.

"In that process, I ended up getting out but I will hopefully rectify my mistake next time around and choose the right shot," was the candid reflection of a man who has the confidence of the team management.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, Pandya shared the learning from post 2016 World T20 and credited Rahul Dravid and Paras Mhambrey for the results.

“After the World Cup, I had a slight reality check. I knew I had areas to improve, the 'A' tour of Australia was pretty important for me. I learnt a lot of things about my game there. Rahul (Dravid) Sir helped me a lot. He spoke to me about my game as well as working on the mental aspects.

"Paras Sir (Mhambrey) helped me with my bowling and worked on my fitness. It was a complete package, my fitness, my bowling as well as the mental aspects of the game," said a confident-sounding Pandya.