India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has richly praised all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s captaincy and has named him the successor of Rohit Sharma post the 2023 ODI World Cup. Interestingly, Hardik, who had captained India in T20Is lately, will lead the side in the ODIs for the first time.
He will captain India in the first ODI of the three-match series in Australia as Rohit Sharma will miss the match due to personal commitments.
The all-rounder made his cricketing comeback in IPL 2022 after a six-month layoff as he worked on his back issues and led his franchise Gujarat Titans to the title. Since then he has led India in T20Is post the 2022 T20 World Cup and is seen as a future India white-ball captain.
“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,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports show Game Plan.
Gavaskar also added that Hardik can be an impact player and leads by example as a captain.
“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. So, someone who is prepared to take on responsibility, lead from the front, and who will not ask the players to do something that he wants to do himself, is highly crucial. So, when the players know that he’s just not putting us over there because he doesn’t want to be there, that he’s gone through the fire and he wants us to go through the fire. So, that’s the key as far as Hardik Pandya is concerned.
He has been an impressive captain. 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,” Gavaskar added.
