Hardik Pandya has led India to two T20I series wins.
Hardik Pandya’s winning streak as India's T20I captain continues, as the star all-rounder led Team India to a T20I series win against New Zealand after the third and final T20I ended in a tie via the DLS method on Tuesday (November 22) in Napier.
India had won the second T20I of the three-match series by 65 runs, and it helped the Hardik Pandya-led Men in Blue to clinch the series with a 1-0 margin against New Zealand after the rain-shortened the third game on Tuesday with the first match already abandoned due to rain in Wellington.
Well, it was Pandya’s second T20I series win as India captain, having led the side to a win on Ireland's tour earlier this year.
However, the star all-rounder's stocks have started rising ever since he guided the Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL 2022 title earlier this year, and now the Indian cricket team's disappointing T20 World Cup 2022 campaign may see him as a full-time T20I captain.
As Hardik has been immensely tipped by veterans and experts to take over the reins in T20I cricket, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes that the all-rounder has shown his talent as captain in limited opportunities, and that’s really impressive.
However, he didn’t comment on whether Pandya should replace Rohit as T20I captain or not.
Dinesh Karthik told Cricbuzz: “He had a very good series albeit it being a very short series. I think in the limited time that he was on the field, he called all the right shots. What was important even today was that when India were behind, when New Zealand were batting in the 15th over, to pull it back with the right bowling changes and the right field set was good to watch.”
Karthik added, “And then obviously makes a statement with the bat. It shows a leader who is willing to express himself and who is willing to walk the talk.”