Mumbai: Hardik Pandya is all set to for a major milestone in his career in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season as he is set to lead a team for the first time. The star all-rounder was appointed the captain of the newly formed Ahmedabad franchise for their inaugural season in the cash-rich league.
Talking about his captaincy and strategies for the upcoming season of IPL, Pandya said that there is no manual to learn how to be a captain, and added he is a person who likes to take responsibility. Admitting that he is looking forward for the upcoming season.
The Indian all-rounder further said that he would like to follow the path of three figureheads of Indian cricket MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The three have distinguished styles when it comes to leadership in any format of the game. While Kohli has a reputation of wearing his heart on his sleeve, Dhoni is known for his calm and composed way to lead. Rohit is also a cool customer and well-versed with captaincy.
“From Virat, I will pick his aggression and passion, his energy which is tremendous. From Mahi bhai it’s the composure, calmness, remaining same in every situation, trying to see what new things he can add. And from Rohit, I would pick the freedom as he lets the player decide what he wants to do. These three qualities if I can pick up, it will be a very good combination,” Hardik said on Tuesday during an interaction facilitated by the Ahmedabad franchise.
Hardik Pandya’s bowling fitness status has been a topic discussion in the recent past but the all-rounder on Tuesday said that he hopes to “surprise everyone” with where he is at.
“It’s (bowling) a surprise for everyone. My team knows where I stand. They know where I am (in terms of bowling fitness). It has been communicated to everyone,” the 28-year-old added.
Hardik hasn’t rolled his arms on a regular basis in the past two year since his lower back surgery. In his previous India stint at the T20 World Cup, he managed to bowl just four overs, highlighting the team’s need for an additional bowling option. Now he would be captaining the CVC-owned Ahmedabad franchise, where he hopes to play as an allrounder.
“It’s a good start as IPL gives the platform to test myself in the new role as pressure is very similar. Not saying you are expected to win but everyone wants to win. It’s a right step to go ahead and eventually get captaincy for your country but you don’t look for that. If it’s supposed to come it will come,” he further said.
Talking about his batting positions for Ahmedabad, Hardik said, “I’ve always been a cricketer who plays situations and if I have to go certain places where my team needs certain goals from me, as a group we will decide. I have not made any plans regarding that.”
There were a lot of speculations going on that Hardik could also decide to play just as a batter considering his injuries and workload. However, the star all-rounder cleared the air by saying that he still wants to contribute with the ball and not looking to become just a batter.
“It’s been challenging. I’ve always been someone who contributes with the bat, ball and on the field. When I decided I will just bat, I wanted to spend some time on the ground. We all love challenges and I love to fight it out. Criticism is good and it doesn’t really bother me. For me, results do matter but I work hard for the process,” he pointed out.
“I’ve always realised that as an all-rounder I give a lot of different options to the team. I’ll try to work on being an all-rounder and if something doesn’t work out then my batting is always there. But Hardik Pandya combined with both bat and ball, it sounds better than just a batter.”
The CVC Capitals-owned franchise has picked Pandya as one of their three draft picks for a whopping amount of Rs. 15 Crore. Hardik is all set to lead the Ahmedabad franchise in the IPL 2022 season. Whether he will return as an all-rounder in this edition of the league, or as a bowler, it will be interesting to seen.
