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Cricket Players‘One of IPL's Biggest revelations’: Harbhajan Singh names future captain of Team India
Terming Hardik Pandya's captaincy for Gujarat Titans "one of the biggest revelations" of IPL 2022, Harbhajan Singh said the all-rounder led from the front and he can be a future captain for India.
Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh backed Hardik Pandya to become a leader for the Indian side in future. Terming Hardik's captaincy for Gujarat Titans "one of the biggest revelations" of IPL 2022, Harbhajan said the all-rounder led from the front. Hardik performed with bat and ball, leading GT to their maiden IPL title in first attempt. The Baroda cricketer, was in fact, GT's highest run-getter with 487 runs in 15 matches. This was also Hardik's most productive season with the bat in IPL.
"One of the biggest revelations in this year's IPL was the advent of Hardik Pandya as the skipper of the Gujarat Titans and the way he led the team from the front to win the coveted title is definitely praiseworthy. His intent and positive captaincy are signs that he can lead Team India in the future," Harbhajan told PTI in an interview.
Hardik's composure in pressure situations and will to do the difficult things for his side were one of the most striking features of his captaincy debut. Throughout the IPL, Hardik took up the challenge of batting at No.4 and did not shy away from taking the new ball or even bowling at the death.
After having surprised everyone with his precise decision-making and field placements, took three wickets and scored 34 runs against Rajasthan Royals in the final, which was attended by a crowd of over one lakh in the world's biggest cricket stadium in Motera.
Hardik's solid returns in the IPL also earned him recall in the Indian side for the South Africa T20Is. Ahead of the start of the first T20I, he was also elevated as the vice-captain after Rishabh Pant had to take over the captaincy duties following an injury to KL Rahul.
The 28-year-old played breezy innings with the bat, scoring 31 off 12 balls to help India post 211 in New Delhi on Thursday. The total, however, was not enough as fifties from David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen meant South Africa reached him with 7 wickets and 5 balls to spare.
Harbhajan said this is a great opportunity for the likes of Rututaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh to impress in the international arena ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November.
"It's a golden opportunity for these youngsters to do something special ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup later this year. The team management has injected the young blood into the squad against South Africa this time, and they have every potential to make it big before the flagship event," he said.
