IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya reveals one captaincy trait each of Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit he would like to have
Hardik Pandya, captain of the IPL's Ahmedabad franchise, has said that he would like to have the aggression of Virat Kohli, the calmness of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma’s quality of giving players their space.
The all-rounder was recently confirmed as leader of the Ahmedabad franchise. He was purchased for ₹15 crore as one of the team’s three draft picks.
The 28-year-old has played under Dhoni and Kohli for India and under Rohit for the Mumbai Indians (MI). At a media interaction on Tuesday, he was asked to pick one particular trait of the three leaders he would like to have. Hardik replied:
"From Virat, I would pick his aggression, his passion and his energy, which is tremendous. With Mahi (Dhoni) bhai, the composure, the calmness. In every situation he is the same. From Rohit, I will pick that he lets the players decide what they want to do."
Hardik Pandya opens up on how MS Dhoni helped him improve his game 🙌
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While the cricketer has never led India, he was among the contenders for the role when India sent a second-string team to Sri Lanka last year. Eventually, it was Shikhar Dhawan who was named captain.
“In my team, I will be the captain but everyone else will be also a leader” - Hardik Pandya
Sharing his leadership philosophy, Hardik stated that everyone has their own style of captaincy. He added that in the Ahmedabad team, he will look to groom leaders. The hard-hitting batter elaborated:
“In my team, yes, I will be the captain but everyone else will be also a leader in their own role. Whatever little opportunities or roles I've been given [in the past], I've always tried to embrace them and learn something new out of them. And now when I have the opportunity, I'll try to make sure that I use that experience I've got from all these little, little roles in my captaincy.”
Claiming that there is no manual to learn how to become a captain, he added that he has always been someone who likes to take up responsibilities. Hardik asserted:
“I'll make sure that all the boys who are with me, we play as one [unit]. And that they get enough from me, that is what I've learned over the years. I'll make sure I give a lot of time to the players, my doors will be always open for them. So no preparation as such but I'm looking forward to it and mentally I have always been ready.”
Hardik Pandya reveals that his preparations are all about playing as an all-rounder 🙌
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The 28-year-old was dropped from the Indian team following a poor T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. He was also released by MI ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.