Pandya also brings balance to the team with his medium paced bowling and explosive batting making him an impact player in the middle order and former captain Sunil Gavaskar he believes the all-rounder will prove to be a game-changer for India during their upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia.
Attention now turns to the ODIs after India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 with the series opener taking place at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
Pandya will lead the Indian team in the first ODI in the absence of Rohit who will miss the match due to family commitments. Gavaskar sees it as an opportunity for Pandya to further reclaim the leadership role in the one-day races after the World Cup as well.
The 29-year-old all-rounder, who captained the Gujarat Titans to a title win in their first appearance of the 2022 Indian Premier League season, is already the reigning leader for India in the shorter format.
Gavaskar told Star Sports, “I was very impressed with his captaincy at T20 level for Gujarat Titans as well as India when he captains the T20 team. I believe if he wins the first game in Mumbai then you can almost brand him captain of India once the World Cup is over in 2023.”
Gavaskar said that the presence of Pandyas in the middle order is essential for India.
“He can be an impact player as well as a game changer in the middle tier. Even for the Gujarat team, he was promoting himself up the tier knowing that this is the moment the team needed some momentum and thrust, and he would have fouled it,” Gavaskar said.
“So someone who’s ready to take responsibility, lead from the front and who won’t ask players to do something he wants to do himself, is extremely crucial,” he said.
Gavaskar added that Pandya’s captaincy style also makes him a favorite among the players.
“What you see with Hardik Pandya as captain is a sense of comfort with the rest of the team. Maybe it’s the way he manages the players, puts his arm around the players… He just seems to give the players a sense of comfort.
“It’s so important…to give a player a sense of comfort so they can go play their natural game. I think it encourages them, which is a wonderful sign.”
Meanwhile, former Indian player and commentator Ajit Agarkar has backed Rohit to fire his bat once he joins the Indian team.
“His record speaks for itself. There is no 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,” he said. said Agarkar.
“Maybe, he changed things up a bit in the last series, giving himself a little more time and got the hundred. I just hope he will play every match India plays from now on, every day, because you want your captain to go out there just to have a pattern of play,” he added.
(with PTI inputs)
