Hardik Pandya wants to lead by example
Fighting out all the odds, Gujarat Titans and their captain Hardik Pandya grabbed their maiden IPL title. The amount of joy and the sense of accomplishment the franchise felt was quite evident in the pictures of their celebrations. How Hardik turned around his lean patch into a memorable victory is something that will be remembered by cricket fans for years to come.
Hardik Pandya who has released by the five-time champions Mumbai Indians led by example and contributed equally with both the bat and bowl. He was crowned with the player of the final title as he claimed three scalps in the form of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Shimron Hetmyer. When Gujarat Titans lost their in-form batsman Wriddhiman Saha in a low-scoring final, Pandya ensured that he rotates strike, stays on the crease, and adds valuable runs to his team's tally. The title that Gujarat Titans won was nothing but a statement from Hardik Pandya, a statement about his commitment to the game of cricket.
The Gujarat Titans skipper who has always come across as this flashy and brash kind of a player took everybody by surprise with the calm and tactful style of captaincy. Hardik Pandya can hold his head high as he amassed 487 runs with a total of 8 wickets to his name. A season of firsts, as they call it, not many apart from Shane Warne and Hardik Pandya can call themselves title winners in their debut IPL season as captain.
Hardik has very clearly expressed how he always enjoyed the responsibility and wants to be someone to lead his troops from the front. His style of captaincy has forced many cricketing pundits to compare his ways with none other than MS Dhoni, a man who led team India to three ICC trophies.
Six years in his not-so-consistent international career, Hardik still has his eyes set on a world cup win for India. He came very close a couple of times in 2016 and 2019 but somehow India crashed out of the multi-team format in the semi-final stages.
"Playing for India has always been a dream come true. In the short and long term, one goal is there. I want to win the World Cup no matter what happens", says Hardik Pandya making his intentions clear. As the star-studded IPL concludes, Hardik is all set to take the field against South Africa in his India blues starting June 9, 2022. With a T20 world cup fast approaching, later this year in Australia, Hardik is all set to go all out and win a world cup for the country
(Inputs from PTI)
