Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has predicted the exact time Hardik Pandya could replace Rohit Sharma as the limited-overs captain of Team India.
Pandya’s reputation as captain has increased manyfold in the last one year or so after he led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their first-ever season. He received praise from all over for the way he captained the team as well as he led the team from the very front.
Following the success in IPL, he led Team India in T20Is on several occasions in Rohit’s absence and did well. In 11 T20Is as captain, he has led India to victories in an impressive 8 matches. He will have an opportunity to further enhance his reputation as captain when he leads India in the first match of the upcoming 3-match series against Australia. Rohit will miss the series-opener due to personal reasons.
Sunil Gavaskar on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy future:
Hardik Pandya has been backed by several experts and fans to become India’s full-time limited-overs captain once Rohit Sharma’s reign comes to an end. And while only time will tell whether it happens or not, Sunil Gavaskar believes it could happen right after the 2023 World Cup.
Talking about the India allrounder’s captaincy, the legendary batsman stated that Pandya as a captain gives a sense of comfort to his teammates. Gavaskar also stated that the allrounder motivates his teammates to back their natural game.
“What you see with Hardik Pandya as a captain is a sense of comfort with the rest of the team. Maybe, it’s the way he handles the players, puts his arm around the players. He just seems to give the players a sense of comfort.
“That’s so important to give a player a sense of comfort so that he can go and play his natural game. I think he encourages them, which is a wonderful sign,” said Gavaskar as quoted by News18.
“Of course, the fact that he can be an impact player as well as a game changer in the middle order. Even for the Gujarat team, he was promoting himself up the order knowing that this is the time when the team needed some momentum and push, and he would do that,” he added.
Speaking further, the former cricketer-turned-commentator said that he has been impressed by Pandya’s captaincy at T20 level both in the IPL and for India. He also tipped him to replace Rohit as the captain post the ODI World Cup this year.
“I have been very impressed with his captaincy at the T20 level for the Gujarat Titans and for India when he is captaining the T20 side. I do believe that if he wins the first game in Mumbai, then you can almost stamp him as the India captain once the World Cup is over in 2023,” said Gavaskar.