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.

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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.

Asia Cup 2022: If They Put More Thought Into Vice-Captaincy, Hardik Pandya Would Have Been Given A Go-Ahead - Saba Karim

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.”

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Hardik Pandya, Saba Karim
Hardik Pandya. (Photo: Twitter)

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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