Team India recently lost the T20I series to the West Indies 3-2 and former wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel was of the opinion that skipper Hardik Pandya is still 'a work in progress'.
India's T20I series defeat at the hand of the West Indies have raised a lot of questions on the Indian think-tank as well as Pandya's captaincy.
Team India recently lost the T20I series to the West Indies 3-2 and former wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel was of the opinion that skipper Hardik Pandya is still 'a work in progress'.
Brandon King and Romario Shepherd starred for the hosts as they won the final T20I by eight-wickets at Lauderhill, Florida.
Set a target of 166, the West Indies batters reached the target with two overs to spare that included a 107-run partnership of Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran.
The win serves as a morale-booster for the West Indies who have failed to qualify for the 50-over World Cup for the first time in their history.
On the other hand, the defeat raised a lot of questions and doubts about Hardik Pandya and the Indian team management. Patel stated that Hardik could have used his bowlers 'better' against the Caribbean side.
"Against Nicholas Pooran, he (Hardik Pandya) gave that over to Axar Patel and not bowling Yuzvendra Chahal. Bowling changes and the utilisation of the bowlers are something that tells me that Hardik, the captain for India, is still a work in progress," Patel was quoted in Cricbuzz.
Hardik Pandya also failed to impress as a batter in the T20I series. Out of three ODIs and five T20Is, Hardik came out to bat in seven games and managed only one half-century which came in the 50-over format. He was a shadow of himself in the T20Is.
"And there is obviously a little concern about his batting. He needs runs. He didn't get runs in the IPL, he didn't get runs in the last couple of series as well. India would want to get some runs for Hardik Pandya in the Asia Cup or the series against Australia before the World Cup," Patel said.