IND vs SL: Hardik Pandya reveals who shaped him to be better captain: Just a couple of years ago, Hardik Pandya was just another all-rounder in the growing list of India’s bench strength. Although he was a regular member of the Indian side, before he suffered a horrific back injury, and had played a string of memorable innings for the Men in Blues, his presence was never felt like it is felt in the present times. It’s a totally different world when we talk about Hardik Pandya now. Besides being a prominent all-rounder in the team, he has also shaped himself into a leader of the peck.
Following India’s recent series victory against Sri Lanka by 2-1, Hardik Pandya revealed that he had just one captaincy stint during his whole career, before the IPL 2022. The all-rounder had led Under 16 level Baroda side, which was the only captaincy experience for him.
“I have never led in junior cricket as well. When I was U16, I had led for Baroda but after that everyone said I should concentrate on my own game and so since then I had not really led a team,” Hardik Pandya told reporters after series clinching victory against Sri Lanka.
Hardik credits Gujarat Titans (GT) head coach Ashish Nehra for his leadership growth as the two aforementioned have very similar approach when it comes to cricket.
“What has been very important was the kind of coach I worked with at Gujarat Titans. Ashish Nehra made a big difference in my life – we are very similar in terms of cricketing thoughts. We might be two different personalities but when it comes to cricket we are very similar. Because I was with him, it added more value to my captaincy. It helped me to get exactly what I know. It was just about getting assurance, I always knew that I have a certain awareness of the game. It was just about kind of backing what I know already,” he said.
From being a rookie skipper in the Indian Premier League to lifting his maiden IPL trophy with Gujarat Titans (GT) and subsequently becoming a face of India’s T20I side, Hardik has come a long way and its just a beginning to his growing career. Since he took charge of the Indian T20I side, Hardik has led team India to six victories in eight matches. His most recent series win came against Sri Lanka.
The 29-year old cricketer admitted that the young players will make mistakes and its part of the game but acceptance of that is very crucial otherwise things can go haywire.
“Managing (a young team) is not difficult. But, at the same point of time, it’s a young group. They will make mistakes and learn from it. We emphasise that once you make a mistake, you learn from that. Acceptance is very important in this sport. If you don’t accept it, things go very far,” he said.
