Each of them is different but fantastic, Hardik Pandya on captaincies of Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit

A serious injury during India’s high-voltage clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in September saw Hardik Pandya’s international engagements for the year 2018 ending abruptly. The ace all-rounder made a comeback to competitive cricket in Ranji Trophy only recently and delivered with both the ball and bat and has now been included for India’s limited-overs squads for the series against Australia and New Zealand in January and February.

The 25-year-old Baroda cricketer chose to play in the Ranji Trophy over India ‘A’ as he wanted to get himself conditioned for the longer format of the game and even harboured the hope of making into the squad for the ongoing Test series versus Australia. He, though, has been added to the Test squad and is then set to resume his limited-overs career, just months ahead of the ICC World Cup in May-July.

Hardik recently spoke to Times Now over various aspects related to his game and career and a key one among them was how he has got the backing of players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli throughout. Hardik made his debut in the limited-over versions under the captaincy of Dhoni while his journey in the longer format kicked off under Kohli. The man, though, is in his early days of international cricket with less than 1,500 runs and 100 wickets overall but he has always been seen with a player with a truckload of potential – even one who can fill in the shoes of the legendary Kapil Dev.

In the interview, Hardik was asked about the captaincy styles of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and also Rohit Sharma, who has also led India to a number of title wins, and how he would differentiate between each one of their styles. Hardik plays under the captaincy of Rohit for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

‘MS didn’t talk much and let us do what we loved’

“MS was someone who didn’t talk much and let us do what we loved to do. He never changed my game. Dhoni was someone who was very important to me as I was raw, I was learning. That was the time where with my personality, I had to evolve. And he gave me the time to understand my role.”

On Kohli’s leadership, Hardik had a different take. He said the current Indian captain backed him to the hilt, even when he saw low days. He said the backing eventually saw him succeeding.

On Rohit, Hardik said: “Rohit is someone who is fantastic. He doesn’t make you feel that he is the captain. He lets you do what you want to do. He is chilled out.”

Calling each of the three captains (they still lead their respective sides in the IPL) as “fantastic in their areas”, Hardik said he enjoyed playing under Dhoni and still does so under Kohli and Rohit. “If MS was not there, it would have been a different story with my life. Virat is someone who has helped me grow big time and I have grown my career with Rohit,” he added.

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