The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 showcased a new dimension to Hardik Pandya as he led Gujarat Titans (GT) to title victory in their debut season. Like many current and former cricketers, head coach Rahul Dravid has been left impressed by the GT skipper as well. In addition, he feels that the IPL captaincy experience of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer for their respective franchises is good for Indian cricket.
"It is great that we have a lot of Indian captains doing well. Hardik was one of them. Brilliant. KL did a good job at LSG and Sanju in RR. Shreyas in KKR," Dravid said at the press conference ahead of India’s T20I clash against South Africa at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on June 9.
"It is really great to see the young batters leading the team. It helps people grow and develop as players, having to lead teams to make the decisions. It helps you grow as a person and as a player.
"It is great from our perspective that the younger Indian players are leading well in the IPL," the 49-year-old added.
While there have been a few maiden call-ups in the T20I squad in absence of big guns like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, players like Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik have made a thunderous comeback on the back of performances in recently-concluded IPL 2022 for their respective franchises. Dravid is happy to see Pandya fit and bowling again. India missed his bowling in the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE where they were knocked out from the group stage.
"It is really pleasing to have him back. Hardik at his best is a fantastic cricketer with both bat and ball. He's been very successful in white-ball cricket and has shown some really good form in this IPL as well," Dravid said.
Dravid feels that even though Rahul will make his T20I captaincy debut in the five-T20I series, Baroda will be part of the leadership group after showcasing his captaincy skills for the Gujarat-based franchise.
"His leadership was very impressive in the IPL and he performed well. You don't have to be designated as a leader to be part of the leadership group. At this point of time from our perspective it is a positive that he has started bowling again. It is really about ensuring that we can get the best out of him as a cricketer in terms of contributions,” he concluded.
