Hardik Pandya has that quality in him to lead Indian team: Rashid Khan

Hardik Pandya impressed everyone at the IPL 2022, where he returned from a long injury-break, and led Gujarat Titans to the championship title in their first-ever outing. He put his all-round skills to display, which earned him a place back in the Indian squad. He then made his captaincy debut for India and led the team to a 2-0 win against Ireland in a T20I series.

His leadership skills and his performance with both the bat and ball earned him India captaincy again when he led the team against New Zealand in a three-match T20I series. He continued his winning streak as a skipper as India claimed a 1-0 win in the series after two games were washed out. Rashid Khan, Pandya’s deputy at Gujarat Titans, was all praises for the all-rounder for his leadership qualities when asked who can be India's future captain.

“Hardik Pandya, the way he has captained in the IPL - definitely. He has the qualities of a captain. He is cool and calm under pressure. You need a captain like that. The way he led the team, I played with him, I enjoyed a lot as a player along with him. I hope he becomes, he has that quality in him that he can lead the Indian team,” Rashid Khan told News24 Sports.

India prepare for Bangladesh challenge next

Ever since India’s exit from the T20 World Cup 2022, many cricket pundits have looked at Pandya as a captaincy option for India. There were also a few who opined that India should look at a different captaincy candidate for the T20Is, and keep Rohit Sharma limited to the ODIs and Test cricket. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who has closely watched the team from inside and outside, also said that Pandya would be the right choice.

Team India is currently in Bangladesh, preparing for the three-match ODI series which will be followed by two Tests. India named a strong squad for the white-ball games as almost all the senior players, who had been rested for the New Zealand tour, are set to return.