Kolkata: In 88 T20I innings so far, Hardik Pandya has remained unbeaten 25 times. That is also when Pandya aggregates a strike rate of over 178. When he doesn't go the distance?

His strike rate drops to 140.78. Which is still good enough if you are thinking ballpark figures, probably not in Pandya's case since he operates largely at the backend of the innings. Tuesday was one such innings, a chase no less at Rajkot in the third game against England, where Pandya was averaging less than run-a-ball before being dismissed for 40 off 35 balls. India's defeat was inevitable.

Pandya's case is a bit peculiar. In very little time since MS Dhoni's retirement, he had emerged as India's designated allrounder as well as slog overs enforcer. Be it the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, where he was the lone salvation act with a 33-ball 63, or the Pakistan game where he held one end up (37-ball 40) as Virat Kohli mounted an epic chase, Pandya has been known to be flexible to the demands of the game. But with the rider of being cautious initially.

India were okay with that. That approach, however, is now coming under more scrutiny, possibly prompted by Tuesday's defeat or because Pandya's strike rate hasn't crossed 117 in the last six innings. That's a sharp downturn in a format as fickle as T20. "One cannot take 20-25 balls to get set in a T20I," former India stumper Parthiv Patel said in the post-match show on Star Sports. "I understand taking your time but you have to keep rotating the strike. Hardik may have ended up with 40 off 35, but there were a lot of dot balls at the start of his innings."

Pandya has always batted at No.5 or 6. But this is a different India team, post the 2024 T20 World Cup, where there are no fixed positions and hence open to a more dynamic approach to batting. With Kohli or Pant around, Pandya normally entered the game around the middle overs. That too has changed with India adopting a more fearless approach. Every tactic has a downside though. Pandya is realising that in this series, coming out to bat in the 12th, 8th and 6th over respectively. That could be pressuring Pandya into going into a shell since he is wired to set up the game for a final-over dash.

Then there is the deal with the batting order as well, which former England skipper Kevin Pietersen said India didn't get right on Tuesday. Dhruv Jurel batted at No.8 but that didn't necessarily give India the requisite batting depth. "Jurel is an accomplished batter. Having him lower down the order for the left and right combination was not right. I'm a firm believer in your best batters batting up front," Pietersen said on Star Sports. "Left and right combination is alright till No.4 but after that you should send your best batters. Jurel is a proper batsman. He could have constructed a big innings," he said.

Not the vice-captain any longer, Pandya has lost ground in recent months. With India transitioning into a spinner-reliant bowling approach keeping in mind the World Cup that will be hosted here in a year, his returns as medium-pacer too haven't been compelling.

Rajkot in fact saw England's intent of playing out Mohammed Shami and attacking Pandya since he isn't as quick, or as straight. That leaves for Pandya mainly the role of a batter to keep himself relevant as India complete their T20 transition. Only, this time he may not get to play the waiting game as much as he likes to.