IND vs WI: I'll Be More Than Happy – Hardik Pandya Opens Up On The Prospect Of Becoming Full-Time India Captain

Star India National Cricket Team all-rounder Hardik Pandya, while talking about the prospect of becoming the permanent captain of the India National Cricket Team, said that he will be “more than happy” to take up the full-time captaincy.

Hardik Pandya made his captaincy debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. He led the debutants Gujarat Titans (GT) to the triumph and several cricket pundits lauded the all-rounder’s captaincy in the tournament.

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After his success as a skipper in the IPL, he was named as India’s captain for the two-match T20I series against the Ireland National Cricket Team and India won the series by 2-0.

Also, Hardik Pandya was appointed as the permanent vice-captain of the T20I team ahead of the five-match T20I series against the West Indies National Cricket Team. Notably, he replaced Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain of the T20I team.

Pandya led the Men In Blue in the 5th and final T20I match of the series against West Indies in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was rested for the match. Under Pandya’s leadership, India won the match by 88 runs to win the series by 4-1.

Speaking after the match, he said that it was special for him to lead India and earn a victory against West Indies.

“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,” Pandya said after the match.

“Yeah, why not? If I get an opportunity, I’ll be more than happy to do that,” the all-rounder said when asked whether he sees himself as permanent captain. 

We have a World Cup and Asia Cup now, so we need to focus on that – Hardik Pandya

The 28-year-old said that now Team India will be shifting focus to the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. He also praised the team management for creating a positive team environment. He elaborated:

“We have a World Cup and Asia Cup now though, so we need to focus on that and use our skillsets there. Just got to know how to keep getting better. Pressure and environment wise we are ready but in this sport, you never stop learning. 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 the freedom you get more dangerous.

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

Also Read: Fans Furious On Twitter As Tahlia McGrath Gets Allowed To Play In CWG 2022 Cricket Gold Medal Match Vs India Despite Testing Covid Positive

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