IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid Have Given India Players More Freedom And Security, Says Hardik Pandya

Vice-captain for India in the current T20I series against the West Indies, Hardik Pandya, has complimented captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid for giving the players more freedom, security, and communication so they are “not looking over their shoulder.”

After the 2021 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma wants the team to change from what it has been doing for the last five to six years, under former captain Virat Kohli, according to Hardik Pandya. This is clear from the team’s persistently aggressive batting style.

Credit Goes To Rahul Dravid And Rohit Sharma The Way They Have Got The Team Together: Hardik Pandya

“Ro gives you a lot of flexibility and freedom which is his strength throughout his captaincy stint whenever I have played with him,” After India won by seven wickets in St. Kitts to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, Hardik Pandya made the following statement.

“Here as well, a lot of credit goes to him and Rahul Dravid the way they have got the team together and making sure a lot of positive mindset comes in and players are feeling secure; they are not looking over their shoulder; making sure they are getting ample chances; they are getting told as well if they are not playing, and that is something which is commendable.”

Pandya said that the squad debated whether to continue their aggressive batting strategy despite the sluggish pitch at Warner Park in Basseterre, St. Kitts, the day before the game. The all-rounder disclosed that the skipper had instructed the team to keep striving and experimenting in order to qualify for the 2022 T20 World Cup.

The Attitude Is Making This Team Look More Dangerous: Hardik Pandya

In this series, India has experimented with starting with Suryakumar Yadav, and in the third T20I, Suryakumar completely destroyed the opposition in their attempt to reach 165 runs with a 44-ball 76, helping India win with an extra over. According to Pandya, India had led the opposing bowlers to believe that they would continue to come hard at them no matter the score.

“The way we are putting bowlers under pressure, even they are thinking that this Indian team, even if it is 10 for 3, will not look to play out the 20 overs,” Pandya said.

“It is thinking that how can we reach 190 even from here. That attitude is making this team look more dangerous, and we will try to continue that.

“About the approach, credit again goes to Ro and the coach. We were all having a chat about how we should go about the slow wicket, do we still want to continue this style of play, and he gave us the freedom, saying that you know what, forget about the results, we are trying something new, we are going to make mistakes, we are going to learn from it, but what we have been doing for five-six years, we are going to go away from that, and make sure that we try everything and all options that are available, and when it comes to the World Cup, we’ll know how to play.”

Rohit said that India had not been playing cautious T20I cricket in recent years before to the West Indies T20I series, and that the only adjustment he had done was to encourage the players to play with greater freedom.

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