IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya's Maturity As A Captain And Batter Is Fantastic To See - Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was all praise for the Gujarat Titans (GT) captain, Hardik Pandya, following the team’s qualification for the IPL 2022 playoffs with a win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Apart from the GT’s excellent performance in the league, another thing of note is how well Hardik has led in his first stint as the skipper. Gavaskar shed light on the same, stating that it signals exciting times ahead.

“It is very exciting to see him perform. Not just heartening, but also very exciting, because he is an exciting cricketer with the bat, the ball and on the field, he is dynamite. It’s exciting to see him back to his best.”

“His maturity every game as a captain, as a batter has been absolutely fantastic to see. The way he is handling the team, the way he is handling the situation when the team hasn’t done well and they have lost a couple of matches,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying in a chat with Sports Today.

Although GT has been on a roll in their debut season, there are certain chinks in their armory that Hardik acknowledged. This awareness also left a positive impression on Gavaskar with regard to Hardik’s mindset.

“When you are winning, everything looks good but when they lost, the way he spoke in the post-match ceremony, and the maturity with which he handled the questions is all terrific to see. Just hoping to see as the months go on towards the World Cup, he will be 100 percent, at batting, bowling, and fielding,” he added.

“He has got bowlers who are doing the job for him” – Sunil Gavaskar

Notably, Hardik had started bowling in the early stages of the tournament but he has once again taken a step back. Gavaskar believes it shouldn’t be alarming as the Baroda all-rounder already has all the bowling resources he needs.

“I know there have been concerns recently that he hasn’t bowled, but, as far as I know, it’s got nothing to do with the back. It’s the groin injury that he is picked, which is the reason he is not bowling himself. The way he is captaining his team, he doesn’t need to bowl. He has got bowlers who are doing the job for him,” Gavaskar further noted.

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