Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has hailed the leadership qualities of all-rounder Hardik Pandya who will be captaining India in the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai as regular skipper Rohit Sharma will be missing the game due to family commitments.
Apart from guiding Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title in their debut season, Pandya has been captaining India recently in the T20I matches and is being seen as a future captain in white-ball formats for the national team.
“What you see with Hardik Pandya as a captain is a sense of comfort with the rest of the team. Maybe, it’s the way he handles the players, puts his arm around the players… He just seems to give the players a sense of comfort. That’s so important to give a player a sense of comfort so that he can go and play his natural game. I think he encourages them, which is a wonderful sign,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports show Game Plan.
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The former India captain added that Hardik can be an impact player and leads by example as a captain.
“Of course, the fact that he can be an impact player as well as a game changer in the middle order. Even for the Gujarat team, he was promoting himself up the order knowing that this is the time when the team needed some momentum and push, and he would do that. So, someone who is prepared to take on responsibility, lead from the front, and who will not ask the players to do something that he wants to do himself, is highly crucial. So, when the players know that he’s just not putting us over there because he doesn’t want to be there, that he’s gone through the fire and he wants us to go through the fire. So, that’s the key as far as Hardik Pandya is concerned.
“He has been an impressive captain. I have been very impressed with his captaincy at the T20 level for the Gujarat Titans and for India when he is captaining the T20 side. I do believe that if he wins the first game in Mumbai, then you can almost stamp him as the India captain once the World Cup is over in 2023.”
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Meanwhile, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar had no doubts that once Rohit links up with the team for the remaining two ODIs, he will continue to show his batting prowess.
“His record speaks for itself. You do not need to say anything about Rohit’s performance in white ball cricket. He has taken a slightly different approach at times, trying to be the aggressor at the top of the order. Maybe, he changed it a little bit in the last series, giving himself a little more time and got the hundred. I just hope he plays every game that India plays from now on, every one-day, because you want your captain out there to just have a pattern of play,” Agarkar said.
“He is missing the first one due to personal reasons. From thereon, you will not have enough one-days to formulate your plans. You want Rohit out there, as physically demanding as it can be for the captain, you want him not to miss any games. With regards to his batting, I do not think there are any issues.”
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