Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel has raised his concerns regarding Hardik Pandya’s captaincy with the Indian team and questioned Rahul Dravid’s s credentials as a T20 coach as the team lost to back-to-back encounters against West Indies on the away soil.
Rahul Dravid replaced Ravi Shastri as the head coach after the 2021 T20 World Cup and has not really witnessed a very successful tenure so far. The Indian team had a poor campaign in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup before India lost in the WTC final against Australia as the management struggled in decision-making going into the marquee events.
Speaking on the Cricbuzz, Parthiv Patel questioned Hardik Pandya’s captaincy against the Men in Maroon as the usage of Axar Patel against hard-hitting Nicholas Pooran in the 1st T20 followed by a bizarre decision to hold back Yuzvendra Chahal on the 2nd T20 in the crunch moment of the game and also compared the coaching style of GT head coach Ashish Nehra and Rahul Dravid, as feels the Indian coach is not proactive in his approach.
“There have been a couple of instances about Hardik Pandya’s captaincy which have been glaring mistakes. The first was giving that over to Axar Patel in the first game when Nicholas Pooran had come out to bat. And today, this one. Hardik Pandya the captain has been brilliant with GT but at Gujarat Titans, he had that support of Ashish Nehra”.
“But is Rahul Dravid that proactive coach or person which we are looking for in the T20 format? I don’t think so. In my mind, we need someone who is proactive. Hardik Pandya has that spark but he needs that support, which to me Rahul Dravid doesn’t provide,” Parthiv Patel said.
Pandya’s reputation as captain has grown in the last year or so after he led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their first-ever season. In the 2023 season too, he has done brilliantly to lead their team to the second consecutive final unities as a captain but could not inspire the team in the first two games against the depleted West Indies side.
Yuzvendra Chahal Did Not Finish His Quota Of 4 overs, So To Me, That Was… – Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel feels that T20 cricket can change in a short time as one decision or a moment change the entire momentum of the game and was baffled by the tactics of not bowling Yuzvendra Chahal after picking up 2 wickets in the 16th over.
“See, a T20 format is usually something that changes around in one moment of the game. One decision here and there, which in this case was Hardik Pandya not giving that over to Chahal. He did not finish his quota of 4 overs, so to me, that was something which changed the game in the favour of West Indies,” Parthiv Patel added.
The Indian team is under the pump in recent times, as they could make an impact against the lesser-ranked West Indies which has invited a wide range of criticism and the Men in Blue would look to turn things around in the forthcoming next three games.