Mumbai: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar opined that Gujarat Titans’ skipper Hardik Pandya reminds him of Rohit Sharma, when he was first made the captain of Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) back in 2013.
The captaincy responsibility that transformed Rohit into a five-time IPL-winning most successful leader, Gavaskar feels that the same responsibility of leadership is doing the exact script for GT skipper Pandya. Pandya, who has amassed 305 runs with the bat in seven innings, averaging 61 while batting at three and four. He has also picked four wickets at an economy rate of 7.56 and has led Gujarat to seven wins.
“What I see with Hardik is exactly what happened to Rohit Sharma when he first got the captaincy of Mumbai Indians midway through the season (in IPL 2013). Suddenly (we saw) Rohit Sharma from playing those lovely cameos of 40s, 50s, and 60s now staying right till the end and taking responsibility. His shot selection became much better,” Gavaskar said on the ‘Cricket Live show’ on Star Sports.
Debutants Gujarat Titans have emerged as a force to reckon with in IPL 2022 and skipper Hardik has led the team from the front. Winning seven out of eight matches to be on top of the points table with 14 points. For a team that looked a little shaky post the mega auction, with opener Jason Roy pulling out due to bio-bubble fatigue, it has been a outstanding outing for the IPL debutants.
“Similarly, you can see that happening with Hardik, his shot selection is absolutely terrific. Of course, he’s an outstanding fielder and (that was the case with) Rohit Sharma, he was a brilliant fielder in the covers and close-in as well (in those days). So Pandya is showing those qualities too and that’s why Gujarat Titans are doing so well,” added Gavaskar.
Agreeing with Gavaskar former Indian spinner Piyush Chawla also praised Pandya for batting with maturity in the top-order as he’s looking to take his game deep and even finishing matches with ease for his team.
“The way Hardik has batted is commendable and he is taking a lot of responsibility. Earlier he used to bat at number 5 and 6 but now he’s batting at number 3 and 4 and so it’s good to see him do well. He’s looking in control, there are no signs of panic. He’s looking to bat deep, he knows that if he stays till the end then he can recover his strike rate if at all there is a dip in the middle stages. He’s looking very mature as a batter,” he said.
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