9. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya who hails from Choryasi, Surat represents Baroda team in Ranji Trophy. In his maiden season, he scored 285 runs which included a knock of 90 in the six Ranji games he played. He is also a handy medium-pacer. But, the 21 years old shot to fame with his stupefying finishes for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the recently concluded IPL 8. In 8 innings of the lucrative league, he accumulated 112 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 180. Mind you, those runs were scored in absolutely high-pressure situations which even won him praises from Australian legend, Ricky Ponting. The MI coach, Ponting lauded the fearless attitude and skills of the all-rounder.
Only time will tell whether he is an answer to India’s quest for a seaming all-rounder at no. 7 or he would fade away in the land of darkness.
