Former England captain Michael Vaughan heaped praise on Hardik Pandya and tipped the all-rounder to become the skipper of the Indian white-ball cricket team in the future.
Everyone was surprised when Gujarat Titans (GT) named Hardik Pandya as their captain ahead of IPL 2022 and he repaid the faith by taking them to the title win. And now has cemented his legacy as a brilliant captain by taking GT to the final second season in a row.
Meanwhile, he was also given the reins of the Indian team in T20 format and he led from the front with series wins over Sri Lanka at home and New Zealand both at home and away.
Meanwhile, the GT topped the points table in IPL 2023, for the second successive year, and were the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Like the IPL 2022 edition, they won 10 matches and also gathered 20 points.
Hardik currently has a win percentage of more than 70 in the IPL at the moment, which is even better than the legendary CSK skipper MS Dhoni.
Considering this, former England captain Michael Vaughan said that Hardik has got the calmness and persona in the middle, and also praised the way the all-rounder goes about making his bowling changes and said he has the Midas touch to become an outstanding white-ball skipper.
"Hardik Pandya is going to captain India. I can convince all of you listening to this, that he is going to captain India. I don't know when it is going to be. He will captain India in white-ball cricket.
He has got the calmness, he has got the game. I'm worried about his injury to his back, but he has just got that persona right in the middle. You can see his body language. The way he maneuvers his field calmly. The way he makes his bowling changes. Yes, he has got two outstanding spinners and Mohammed Shami, who has been the best seamer in the tournament. You need bowlers as a captain,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
"He has got that Midas touch you need to be an outstanding white-ball captain," said Vaughan.
The IPL 2023 final will be played between Hardik Pandya’s GT and MS Dhoni’s CSK on May 28, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
