'I'll be more than happy' - Hardik Pandya on getting full-time Indian captaincy in future

India thrashed West Indies in the final T20I in Florida on the 7th of August (Sunday) to complete a 4-1 series victory against the hosts, following a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI leg. Hardik Pandya, who stepped in as captain in the absence of the rested Rohit Sharma in the series finale, is open to a full-time leadership role in the future.

The Indian team has used seven captains across all formats owing to injuries and workload management of the players. Hardik Pandya, who skippered Gujarat Titans to glory in their inaugural season in the IPL, has an unblemished record as an Indian skipper, winning three matches out of three.

When asked about a full-time role as the Indian skipper, the flamboyant all-rounder stated that he would be more than happy to accept that role, but right now, his focus is on the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in Australia. He emphasized that the players in the team are striving to get better by learning and enjoying at the same time.

“Yeah! why not? If I get an opportunity in the future, I’ll be more than happy to do that, but right now, we have the World Cup, and we have the Asia Cup [coming up]. We’re going to focus on that and make sure as a team what we’re doing, we continue [with that] and make sure that all the skillsets, which we are learning we can keep getting better at it, and at the same point of time enjoy the game as well,” Hardik quoted saying by Cricinfo.

There will be ten captains who at some stage will be a part of the Indian team as well: Rohit Sharma

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma also commented on India’s triumph in the series and hailed the impact of the leaders in the team, hinting that there may come a time when the Indian team might feature ten different captains from the IPL at the same time. He reckoned that the presence of these personalities in the team makes his job much easier as they understand their roles in the team pretty well.

“I know it’s very exciting to create so many leaders around the team because it’s always a good sign. I think it’s very important to have that leadership, but obviously, we play the IPL, and it’s a ten-team tournament. So, there will be ten captains who at some stage, will be a part of the Indian team as well. I think it’s fantastic because honestly, my job is much lesser as these guys understand everything pretty well,” Rohit told Star Sports’ Follow the Blues show.