Ahead of the 1st T20I against New Zealand Former Indian batter and current stand-in head coach VVS Laxman praises Hardik Pandya and says he has a good cricketing brain and the other players’ look up to him.
Ravi Shastri Praises Hardik Pandya
Answering this former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri cited the example of World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev to make a case for Hardik as the leader.
Hardik Pandya would lead the side in the T20Is while Shikhar Dhawan would captain in the ODIs. Hardik Pandya-led Indian T20I team will lock horns with Kane Williamson-led New Zealand to play 3 T20Is with the first match on November 18 at Sky Stadium, Wellington.
“He has got that flamboyance and that exuberance. So that will reflect on the players in the team. I remember when Kapil Dev was captain,” Shastri told broadcasters.
“When you have an impact player and when you have all-rounder when you have a player who is on the thick of action right through those 20 overs, it makes a massive difference. It lifts the spirit of others; they want to emulate him. So, I’m really looking forward to the way Hardik leads,” he added.
The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul have been rested for the white-ball series against New Zealand, comprising three T20Is and three ODIs.
Indian star players will return for the ODI and Test series against Bangladesh, slated to go ahead in December. India and New Zealand have played 20 T20Is so far where India won 11 matches while New Zealand won 09 matches.
It is worth mentioning, Hardik Pandya scored 128 runs at a strike rate of 131.95 and bagged 8 wickets in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2022 tournament.
