'I felt everything was thrown at me'

All-rounder Hardik Pandya revealed he faced a lot of pressure to bowl in the T20 World Cup last year even though he was selected as a pure batter and was not fully fit to resume bowling.

India failed to make it to the semi-finals after they losing to Pakistan and New Zealand in the group stages.

A half-fit Pandya received a lot of flak for his below-par showing in the World Cup, scoring 69 runs in five games, while he bowled just four overs in which he conceded 40 runs.

Pandya has not resumed bowling full-time after undergoing a back surgery in the UK in October 2019.

'The position we were in at the World Cup, I felt everything was thrown at me. I was selected in the squad as a batter. I worked hard to bowl in the first game, but I couldn't. I did bowl in the second one even when I wasn't supposed to,' Pandya told Boria Majumdar on his show Backstage with Boria.

'I want to play as an all-rounder. If something goes bad, then I don't know, but my preparations are all about playing as an all-rounder. I am feeling good, feeling strong and eventually, the time will say what happens.'

Pandya has been left out of the Indian team since the T20 World Cup. The 28-year-old all-rounder, though, continues to be in demand in the IPL as he was picked by the new Ahmedabad franchise for Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million), and was also named as the captain for this season.