These are trying times that we are living in! Not just one industry but each and everyone has been impacted by the pandemic! And Cricket is trying its best to stand up on its feet as it is still experimenting with the crowd capacity at venues in these times! And it was hard for the players too having been forced to take tests every day living in bio-secure bubbles for almost two years.
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| Image credits: Cricket Addictor |
And that is when the boards started experimenting with their players, resting players whenever necessary and some even put forward the idea of selecting completely different squads across formats or tours! India was no exception for this experimentaton having themselves appointed six different captains in the year 2022 alone, due to different reasons one might argue!
And as a result of that experiment, India might have truly found a reliable T20I leader for the future in all-rounder Hardik Pandya. He has had his fair share of injuries over the past two years but he is now showing signs of being mentally fit even as a captain of the Indian T20I team even though he led in just a few matches!
Two new franchises were formed ahead of the IPL 2022 season and Hardik Pandya was made captain of one of those teams - Gujarat Titans! No one really gave his team a chance to qualify for the playoffs, let alone win the title. But they took everyone by surprise by winning the title in their first attempt itself!
Hardik Pandya as India's T20I captain
And Hardik Pandya also got the chance to lead the Indian team during the tour of Ireland this year where two T20I matches were played. India completely outplayed the hosts winning that series by 2-0. And Hardik got yet another chance as captain on the West Indies tour in the fifth T20I which he embraced with a big hug! India went on to beat the hosts this time by a massive margin of 88 runs!
One can argue about the experience and strength of the teams against whom Hardik led India to victories in T20Is but nonetheless, he so far maintained a 100% winning rate as captain in the three games he got the opportunity! He was so brilliant in rotating his bowlers to get the outcome that the team wanted!
Hardik Pandya's individual performances as T20I captain
There were many players who would succumb to extra pressure and there were many such instances one has witnessed in the past! But Hardik had excelled as T20I captain so far. He not only scored runs at a faster rate but also bowled some crucial overs for his team.
As a batter, he has scored 65 runs in the 35 deliveries he faced at a strike rate of 175.67 against his career strike rate of 144.04. Though his bowling figures as the captain doesn't look great, he managed to pick up a wicket in just the 6 overs he bowled as captain!
Author's opinion:
Hardik Pandya may have relatively less experience as T20I captain but has shown lot of maturity in those games. Be it using his bowlers effectively or batting up the order if needed, Hardik Pandya has shown an immense capability to lead a team even in pressure situations. India might well be presented with other successful captains over the course of time but we believe Hardik truly is a strong contender for the role of India's full-time T20I captain in the future.
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