Former England skipper Michael Vaughan believes that Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya can be the future skipper of the Indian team ahead of their game against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. The Indian all-rounder has shown the potential to lead India in the limited opportunities as a captain.
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 in the cash-rich league. He received appreciation from all over the world for the way he captained the team in the IPL.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, former England skipper Michael Vaughan heaped praise on GT skipper Hardik Pandya for his brilliant captaincy in IPL 2023 and reckons that he going to be the captain of the Indian team in the future.
“Hardik Pandya is going to captain India. I can convince all of you listening to this, that he is going to captain India. I don’t know when it is going to be. He will captain India in white-ball cricket,” Michael Vaughan said.
The 48-year-old believes that Hardik Pandya has got excellent composure in the game and hailed his body language in the field to have control over the team in the games and his bowling changes in the crunch moments of the game.
“He has got the calmness, he has got the game. I’m worried about his injury to his back, but he has just got that persona right in the middle. You can see his body language. The way he maneuvers his field calmly. The way he makes his bowling changes. Yes, he has got two outstanding spinners and Mohammed Shami, who has been the best seamer in the tournament. You need bowlers as a captain.”
Hardik Pandya has been backed by several cricket experts and fans to become India’s full-time limited-overs captain once Rohit Sharma’s reign comes to an end and also tipped him to replace Rohit as the captain post the ODI World Cup this year.
Hardik Pandya Has Got The Midas Touch – Michael Vaughan
Cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Vaughan feels that Hardik Pandya has got a Midas touch in his captaincy and will look to impress everyone in the grand final against his master MS Dhoni on Sunday.
“He has got that Midas touch you need to be an outstanding white-ball captain,” Michael Vaughan added.
Following the success in IPL, he led Team India in T20Is on several occasions in Rohit’s absence and did a decent job as well. In 11 T20Is as captain, he has led India to victories in an impressive 8 matches. Post-2022 world cup India has trusted Hardik Pandya to lead the young-looking Indian T20 side with an eye on the future for the 2024 T20 World Cup.