Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar had huge praise for star all-rounder Hardik Pandya ahead of India's 2nd T20I against South Africa in the T20I of the five-match series on Sunday. The star player recently made his return to the Indian team first the first time in seven months and has been picked for the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa.

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During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Sanjay Bangar was asked if Hardik was the biggest positive for Team India from the first T20I, considering that he excelled in a role different from the one he played in the IPL. He responded:

"He is an extremely versatile player who has worked very well on his game's foundation. You can play him at No. 4 also and at No. 6 as well. Whenever I used to talk to Hardik, he used to always say that he wants to have a good foundation, he always paid a lot of attention to that. That is a transformation. When your game is sorted out, you can mold your game according to every situation," Bangar said.

The former India batter also hailed Hardik's ability to finish off games, an experience he has gained after having many partnerships with former India skipper MS Dhoni.

"He (Hardik) is a player who has played the finisher's role for a very long time for the Indian team. He has shared experiences and built partnerships with MS Dhoni and other lower-order batters. So I feel he is a versatile player," he said.

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Hardik Pandya showcased his ability to build an innings during IPL 2022. The Baroda all-rounder was more conservative in his batting approach and left the late-order big-hitting job to the likes of David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan.