Hardik Pandya – The Next Indian Captain: Will Hardik Pandya Become the Full-time Captain of The Indian Team?
India have had a captaincy bandwagon running around since Virat Kohli’s departure as the Captain of the National Team last year. Ahead of the ICC World T20 2021, the star-Indian batsman Virat Kohli announced that the T20 World Cup would be his last stint as the Captain of the Indian Team in the shortest format of the game. Prior to that, Kohli had also announced that he would no longer captain his IPL side, Royal Challengers Bangalore, as he wanted to focus on One-Day and Test Captaincy of the National Team. This was just the beginning of the dominos effect that saw 7 different captains in a span of 8 months, heading into the T20 World Cup. While Rohit Sharma is the current full-time Captain, Hardik Pandya has emerged as a potential captaincy option for the future, especially in the game’s shortest format. Could he be the long-term solution to India’s captaincy woes?
Hardik Pandya – The Next Indian Captain: The Captaincy Roller Coaster
Rohit Sharma was named as the full-time Captain of the Indian side for all three formats after Virat Kohli quit the captaincy of the test side in January 2022. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya have captained India in 2022. Dinesh Karthik also captained the Team in T20 fixtures against English Clubs. This shows the uncertainty that has existed due to various reasons, with the questionable fitness of Rohit Sharma being the primary factor behind so many changes at the top.
Hardik Pandya – The Next Indian Captain: Changes After the T20 World Cup Exit
A semi-final exit of the Indian National Team was perceived as a major disappointment as the stable Indian side crashed out of the ICC World T20 2022 in an embarrassing fashion. Since then, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has fired the entire selection committee and given hints of having split captaincy for the national side. This is the primary reason that Hardik Pandya seems a probable candidate for the captaincy of the Indian National Team.
He was assigned the task of captaining the Indian T20 Squad in the series against New Zealand, which the Team won 1-0.
Hardik Pandya – The Next Indian Captain: The Personality of a Star
Hardik Pandya has always given the impression of a young, energetic and talented cricketer who loves to enjoy his life as much as he loves the game. Pandya’s volatile nature and mischievous instincts gave the impression of non-seriousness. Moreover, his indecent remarks in a television interview further distorted his image. He was banned by the BCCI for his inappropriate remarks. While he was immensely talented, nobody ever expected maturity and a good awareness of the game from him.
Hardik Pandya – The Next Indian Captain: Pandya’s Rebirth As a Leader
Following the controversy, Hardik rediscovered himself and matured along the way. He is considered a senior player in the Team and contributed well to the side. It is tough to believe that this is the same Hardik, but the growth has been remarkable and commendable.
Hardik Pandya – The Next Indian Captain: IPL Victory
The newly launched IPL franchise Gujrat Titans named Hardik Pandya as their Captain for the first season(2022). The critics questioned the decision as it was a new team, and Hardik had never captained any team before that. Hardik proved everyone wrong as he performed brilliantly well for the Team both with the bat and the ball while making some smart and tactical decisions as a captain to lead the side to its first title in its first-ever season. Gujrat Titans were the strongest Team in the group stages; they were the first Team to qualify for the finals and the first Team after Rajasthan Royals to win the IPL in their first-ever attempt.
Looking Ahead:
The IPL title changed everything in Hardik’s life. Fans and critics could see the growth in his personality and saw the immense captaincy-potential Pandya had. He has done well in the 5 T20I matches in which he has captained India and is yet to lose one as a Captain.
All of this sounds very much in his favor. It won’t be a surprise if he succeeds Rohit Sharma as India’s white-ball Captain. Right now, he is probably the best option India have got.
