While Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder is still a work in progress ever since his back began troubling him again, the flamboyant India cricketer is all set to don a new avatar when he leads the Ahmedabad franchise, one of the two newest entrants in the Indian Premier League.
Unperturbed by the lack of experience in leading a team, barring an under-16 outfit once, Pandya feels he was always ready for the challenge. And as the opportunity has finally arrived, he is keen to grab it with both his hands.
Everyone else will be leader
“You don’t have to be a captain to lead. I’ve always believed that you lead in a lot of different ways. In my team, yes, I will be the captain, but everyone else will also be 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. And now when I have the opportunity, I’ll try to use all the experience I’ve got from those little, little roles in my captaincy,” Pandya said during a virtual interaction with a select media gathering on Tuesday.
“Preparation-wise, I don’t think there is a manual on learning how to become a captain. I will always be the guy to take responsibility. I have always done that for whichever team I have played. I’m just looking forward [to playing for Ahmedabad]. I will try to make sure the boys play as one [unit]. They will get enough time from me because that’s what I have learnt over the years—to give maximum time to the players. My doors will always be open for them,” added Pandya as he went on to appreciate MS Dhoni’s role in shaping his career. He now looks to imbibe all the qualities of the various captains he has played under. “From Virat [Kohli], I would pick his aggression, passion and energy, which is tremendous. With Mahi [Dhoni] Bhai, the composure, the calmness.
Inspiration from seniors
In every situation, he is the same. From Rohit [Sharma], I will pick how he lets the players decide what they want to do,” explained Pandya.
However, at the same time, it’s also important to lift players when they are down, felt Pandya: “When someone is on a high, they don’t need anyone. When someone is having a bad day, that’s when they need you. So, as an individual or as a captain, when someone is feeling down, whatever they need from me, I will always be available. That’s the motto I believe in, I’ll try to follow that.”
‘I’ve always wanted to play as an all-rounder’
Hardik Pandya has copped a lot of flak ever since he was picked as an all-rounder for the last T20I World Cup, but bowled in just two matches [v New Zealand and Afghanistan]. The recurrence of a back injury has prevented him from bowling. Although he said it is a “surprise for everyone” when asked about his bowling, he insisted that the Indian team management knows “where I am.”
And that his fitness situation “has been communicated to them.” Pandya revealed that at one stage, he did consider playing purely as a batsman, but felt that striving to be an all-rounder is better. “I’ve realised one thing, that I, as an all-rounder, can give a lot of different options to the team. For me, as an individual, it has always been that I want to play as an all-rounder, and I’ll always try to do that. And you know, Hardik Pandya with bat and ball combined sounds better than just a batter,” he signed off.
