Mount Maunganui: India captain Virat Kohli said Monday that hoped all-rounder Hardik Pandya will come out a ‘better cricketer’ and scale new heights after making a promising return from suspension that followed his sexist remarks on a TV show.
Pandya did not get to bat in the third ODI against New Zealand but the 25-year-old bowled and fielded with purpose, taking two crucial wickets and a brilliant catch to send back home skipper Kane Williamson.
Kohli, after having condemned the comments made by Pandya and KL Rahul on a TV chat show, reserved words of encouragement for the all-rounder.
“In life, there are only two ways to deal with a situation like that. Either you hit rock bottom or you can learn from the situation and see it as a motivation to make things right,” pointed out Kohli.
“For a cricketer, there is nothing more dear than the game. You put all your energy in it, if you respect the game, the game will respect you back. There is no rocket science,” added Kohli.
The Indian skipper pointed out that Pandya showed the required intensity in his comeback game and is already on the road to redemption.
“You don’t need do anything extra (in a situation like Pandya’s). Whoever comes out of it positive, his career can scale new heights, like we have seen with many cricketers in the past. I hope he goes on that right path and emerges a better cricketer and I think he can do that,” asserted Kohli.
The Indian skipper also said any team in the world would love to have Pandya. “It is very good to have a player like him in the side… he provides balance to the team. The way he bowled today showed that he went back and was practising his skills. You can tell with his intensity, he picked up two crucial wickets as well,” Kohli stated.
PTI
