India, who have been declared favorites for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, will take on the United States on February 7. Ahead of their first game, Australia’s former World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke had an interview with RevSportz, where he shared his thoughts on various aspects of the World Cup and his Most Valuable Player for the upcoming major event.
Michael Clarke chose India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya as his MVP for the World Cup. The former Australian cricketer believes that Pandya is the best player in T20 cricket currently and his all-round ability with bat and ball helps India win games. Over the years, Pandya has been a vital part of the Men in Blue’s white-ball team and has single-handedly won matches for India.
Michael Clarke ignores Abhishek Sharma to choose Hardik Pandya as world No. 1 T20 player
Speaking to Boria Majumdar, Michael Clarke said, “If today I was asked to choose one player in the world for the T20 format, I would choose Hardik Pandya.” “He can win you matches with bat, ball and also in the field. He has mastered these conditions and is a fantastic player for India.”
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“What is rarely talked about is his tactical understanding. He is a brilliant strategist and although he is not the captain of the team, but as a senior player he can definitely give his ideas to captain Suryakumar Yadav. So I will tell you this – Hardik is my favorite person in T20 cricket and my number one choice among all the teams in the world at the moment.”
Hardik Pandya is a clutch player for India
In the last edition of the T20 World Cup, Hardik Panyada had demonstrated his ability to perform under pressure. In the last edition of the tournament, he averaged 48 and had a strike rate of over 150. This showed his hard-hitting ability at the end of the innings. Pandya also took 11 wickets in the tournament and also bowled the last over of the World Cup.
Pandya once again came under pressure and took the wicket of David Miller to help India win the title when 16 runs were needed in the last over, giving India their second title in this format. In the recent practice match against South Africa, he played a brilliant inning of 30 runs in 10 balls and due to this India was successful in scoring 240 runs yesterday.
‘I will not get involved in politics’- Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke also talked about the chaos surrounding the India vs Pakistan match. “I won’t get into the political side of things, because that’s not my area,” he said. “I have been away from politics since I stopped playing for Australia.”
He concluded, “I can tell you that every player dreams of playing the World Cup. It is the pinnacle of the game, and if you are a cricketer, it is a tournament you want to play. I feel for the players of both Bangladesh and Pakistan.”
“If you are a Pakistan player, the one match you would want to win is the match against India. If you are a Bangladesh player, you would want to be a part of the action. It is unfortunate from the players’ point of view.”
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