Hardik Pandya has led Gujarat Titans to five wins from six matches so far in the IPL 2022.
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India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has made an impressive start to his captaincy stint for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. Under his captaincy, Gujarat Titans, currently sit comfortably at the second spot of the points table with five wins from six matches.
Pandya has, moreover, shown his assertive approach as a leader on the field and also backed his players in their tough times. He has looked like a mix of cool and composed with aggressive intent as a captain in early days of the lucrative tournament.
Former India cricketer turned pundit Aakash Chopra believes that his ‘mentor’ MS Dhoni has played a major role in developing his captaincy instincts.
“I think Hardik obviously treats him (MS Dhoni) as his mentor, he’s very close to MS. The number at which he bats and the role that he plays, nobody has played it better than Dhoni in the history of white-ball cricket. He’s learnt the right lessons from MS,” Aakash Chopra said on Cricket Live on Star Sports.
“These are the things that we don’t even have to be told, we just observe. When we are in the company of greatness, we try and take little pieces and it shapes our lives. And that’s what we are seeing with Hardik.”
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The prolific India all-rounder sustained a lower-back injury in 2019. He underwent a surgery in the United Kingdom and was treated under the same doctor who treated him during India’s tour of England in 2018 and the 2019 World Cup.
His return to IPL has been substantial as it has also given him a chance to make a comeback to the Team India set-up. India legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that his performance shows that he has put the thinking cap on.
“He didn’t play a lot of cricket before the IPL because he was trying to get fully fit with all the problems he had due to the injury. (Now) Look at the discipline he’s showing in his batting. He’s batting well in the powerplay and making full use of the field restrictions, he’s doing exceedingly well in the field. So basically, that thinking cap is on; and once that happens your game just goes up,” Gavaskar said.
“This is a new Hardik Pandya. This is a better version of him. It was nice to see the situations in which he has played this season. The good thing about Hardik is that he is batting responsibly at No. 4,” Pathan said.
“You don’t get to take too many chances after wickets fall early but Hardik didn’t shy away from playing big strokes early in his innings for GT if he got the looseness from the bowlers. Whether it is Team India or Gujarat Titans, Hardik is the most suited batsman at number four. This is because he can take the responsibility.”
