Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri believes the extra responsibility of captaincy did Hardik Pandya a world of good. Pandya has definitely grown in confidence since he led Gujarat Titans to glory in their maiden season of the Indian Premier League.
The all-rounder had led from the front as he had delivered with both bat and ball for the Gujarat Titans. Subsequently, Pandya was named as India’s vice-captain for the five-match T20I series against South Africa and then led the national side for the first time in the two-match T20I series against Ireland.
Pandya has definitely flowered after he was given the leadership reins of Gujarat Titans and he has grabbed his chances with both hands. Furthermore, Pandya is bowling with some steam and he is consistently bowling around the 140 km/h mark.
However, the right-hander had played a poor shot in the second ODI against England at Lord’s despite getting settled at the crease.
Shastri said it was shocking to note that Hardik Pandya was not retained by Mumbai Indians. The five-time champions had retained Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah before the IPL auction.
“It shocked me when he was not retained by Mumbai Indians,” Shastri said on commentary during India vs England second ODI at Lord’s.
“It was tough… MI had Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharna, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya so they had to pick three out of those five. Ishan Kishan was obviously picked in the auction,” Shastri said.
“He was picked by Gujarat Titans, where he was given the extra responsibility of captaining, which did him a world of good. When given responsibility, he’s a completely different cricket as opposed to just batting and fielding,” he added.
Pandya amassed 487 runs in 15 matches at an impressive average of 44.27 and scored his runs at a strike rate of 131.27 in Tata IPL 2022 and thus played a huge role in the success of his team.
Hardik Pandya will look to keep up the good form for the national team and keep delivering the goods. Pandya adds value to the team as a seam-bowling all-rounder and he is going to play a huge role in the T20I World Cup.
