Asia Cup 2022: If They Put More Thought Into Vice-Captaincy, Hardik Pandya Would Have Been Given A Go-Ahead - Saba Karim
Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim felt that the selectors didn’t worry too much about the vice-captaincy role while assigning it to KL Rahul, who is coming back from a long injury layoff.
Rahul has led the Indian team before in the absence of Rohit Sharma but if recent results are anything to go by, Hardik Pandya could have been a better option to act as deputy to Rohit, as per Karim.
“A very strong case from Hardik Pandya, as you rightly said. I don’t think the selectors put too much thought into picking the vice-captain. They are going ahead with KL Rahul because he has led India in the past whenever Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli have been injured.”
“I believe if they had put some more thought behind this, maybe a more spunkier character like Hardik would have been given a go-ahead because he brings a different kind of mentality to the side,” Karim told Sports18 news channel.
“Maybe this was the right time for the selectors to get in Hardik Pandya” – Saba Karim
Hardik has become an asset in the white-ball format ever since his return from injury. With the kind of form he is in, the all-rounder is always part of the team and he also has great leadership skills, as seen in the IPL 2022 season with Gujarat Titans.
“What one also has to see is who is the right person to take the kind of template that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have set now forward. I would go ahead with Hardik on that front because he brings in a different kind of attitude, the way he has handled his side in the Indian T20 league.”
“All that really bodes well for Hardik’s leadership skills. So I just felt that maybe this was the right time for the selectors to get in Hardik because he happens to be such a valuable player for India in white-ball cricket,” Karim noted.
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