Team India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday (June 7) expressed his happiness on having all-rounder Hardik Pandya back in the side and praised his captaincy in the recently held IPL 2022, where he led Gujarat Titans (GT) to the title in their maiden season.
Dravid also showered rich compliments on the captaincy of other Indian players like KL Rahul and Sanju Samson in this year’s IPL.
“It is great we have got a lot of Indian captains doing well in the IPL. Hardik was one of them, Rahul did very well for LSG, Sanju captained RR. Shreyas did it at KKR as well. It helps people grow and develop as players. It really helps you grow as a person also, having to make decisions. It is great from our perspective to see that,” Dravid quoted in a press conference two days ahead of India’s T20I series opener against South Africa.
Hardik made a staggering comeback in the IPL 2022 after being under a scanner for being unfit and in and out of the Indian team due to fitness issues. He was the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament with 487 runs to his name and also took 8 wickets in the tournament.
Pandya also was awarded Player of the Match in the final as he returned with the figures of 3/17 and also scored crucial 34 runs with the bat.
The India coach made it clear that the focus will be on Hardik Pandya’s bowling and how it will benefit the team.
“At this point of time, it is really about from our perspective is that he has started bowling again. You know what that does to us, what depth it brings to the side. So for us really, it would be about ensuring we get the best out of him as a cricketer, in terms of his bowling, in terms of his batting,” Dravid said.
“I just met Hardik a couple of hours ago. We had given him an extra day off, all the guys who played in the final. His leadership was very impressive. You don’t have to be designated as a leader to be a leader. From our perspective, it is good to have him back bowling. For us, it’s about getting the best out of him as a cricketer. The selectors will make their decisions based on how things go in the future. It was good to see a lot of young Indian leaders lead their teams in the IPL,” he added.
KL Rahul will lead the Indian team in the five-match T20I series against South Africa in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who has been rested along with senior members, including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami.
Sharing his thoughts on the workload management of players, Dravid said: “It’s important to manage the workload of all the players. We have already rested a few of the players. We have done that in the past few series. This will continue for a little bit, hopefully, before the T20 WC we’ll be able to get everyone back on board.”
“It’s pleasing to have Hardik back. Been pleasing to watch him bat in the IPL as well. Without giving too much away, don’t want to give the batting order away before the match, sometimes the role you play for the franchise isn’t the same for the India team, at times they might be slightly different. The same is the case here.”
(The Indian Express inputs)
