Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya. (Photo: Twitter)

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya said that he would happily don the captain’s hat full-time if the management needs him to step up in the near future.

Following India’s crushing 88-run win over West Indies in the final T20I in Florida, Hardik, who is the stand-in captain in place of Rohit Sharma, said he’ll be happy to take over but for now, the focus shifts to the Asia Cup.

Very special to get a chance to lead your country. And getting that chance and getting that victory means a lot to me as captain and an individual. I was just following our captain’s roles.

Axar Patel
Axar Patel. (Photo: Twitter)

(Do you see yourself as permanent captain?) Yeah, why not? If I get an opportunity, I’ll be more than happy to do that. But for now, we have a World Cup and Asia Cup now so we need to focus on that and use our skillsets there,” Hardik said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Hardik Pandya on what is working for the Indian team

The Men in Blue are on a roll, having defeated England in both the ODI and T20I series and repeating the same feat against the Windies. The new batch of youngsters have adopted an aggressive playstyle that is paying off dividends and Hardik spoke about the same.

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The kind of talent the players have and the freedom we have. This is the new India how they are playing. They are expressing themselves well, and when you have freedom you get more dangerous.”

Shreyas Iyer And Deepak Hooda
Shreyas Iyer And Deepak Hooda

Credit to management and whole group to make that environment. They are not worried about whether they won’t get picked or whether they will get dropped,” he also noted.

Speaking about how much of the preparation for the T20 World Cup is complete, Hardik added: “Absolutely close. Just got to know how to keep getting better. Pressure and environment wise we are ready but in this sport you never stop learning.”

India took the T20I series by a 4-1 margin and will now move on to the Zimbabwe tour.

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