Right from the time Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to the title in their inaugural IPL in 2022, he has come up as an exciting captain.
While the experts and fans were skeptical about his leadership, he proved himself with a title-winning season and is now also in the frame as the next captain for India at least in the white-ball cricket.
Hardik also led India to a win in the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai as Rohit Sharma was not available owing to personal commitments.
Meanwhile, veteran cricket journalist Ayaz Menon has showered praise on Hardik’s captaincy.
“There are two things which are emerging and which are signs of an emerging leader. One is that he understands the game very well, the game situation and the second is, he makes right moves at the right time. These two things are very crucial,” Menon said on Freehit with CricketNext.
“Everybody can have an idea of what the right thing is, but when do you make that move? Sometimes you can delay the move, sometimes you can pre-empt it and might end up with egg on your face. This guy has a knack of making the changes at the right time. Bring himself in or not, to get somebody else (in bowling); Move the fielders – the ball goes to the fielder when he makes changes, sometimes catch as well. Batting order changes are paying dividends,” Menon explained how Hardik’s decision are proving well-thought and effective.
Hardik, so far, has won seven out of 12 T20Is for India and lost four games. Hardik also led India to win in the only ODI he captained.
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Menon further said that his thinking as a captain can even add value when he is not the captain.
“All of these can’t be good fortune. He is obviously sensing the need for doing so. I was reading some statements around him in newspapers and he said, ‘I rely a lot on my gut.’ Now if his gut is so strong, obviously it’s a great thing for the Indian cricket.
“Even when he is not the captain, because he has got so much value he can provide the captain if he is not captaining a certain format.”
Hardik’s most impeccable record has been winning the 2022 IPL wherein Gujarat Titans won 12 out of 16 games. Menon also highlighted his leadership for the Titans.
“He is making the best possible use of the resources, you saw that even as the captain of Gujarat Titans. I think he has learnt a lot. He has learnt a lot from his mistakes. He is a bit of a show pony, he stumbled, he fell, he picked himself up, and he is now galloping ahead. I think that’s a terrific quality I have sensed in Hardik.”
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