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'Hardik came to Mumbai in my first season. Would've been nice to have him around': MI coach has his say on Pandya's exit
IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans, the tournament debutants, relied heavily on Hardik, who amassed 487 runs and plucked eight wickets in a fresh IPL chapter with his home franchise.
Flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya led from the front with a three-wicket haul and a crucial 34 as Gujarat Titans defeated former champions Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets to lift the elusive IPL title in maiden season. The tournament debutants relied heavily on Hardik, who amassed 487 runs and plucked eight wickets in a fresh IPL chapter with his home franchise.
Hardik, who previously was a part of five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians, was named by the Titans as a draft pick. He parted ways with the Rohit Sharma-led T20 side after a seven-year successful stint, which started with his debut game in 2015 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He hit a six off just the second ball he faced.
Hardik has earned high praise for his leadership skills with the Titans and the current Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond has also lauded the Baroda cricketer.
“Hardik is a pretty cool captain. He came in the IPL to Mumbai in my first season so we spent a lot of time together. It was probably a foreign role for him to step up as a leader for a different franchise but he did a great job," Bond told Sportskeeda.
“From my perspective, I miss him. It would have been nice to have in around in our team because he is a quality player. India need him too for the World Cup because he showed what a quality player he is and also what a good leader he is,” he further added.
His decision-making and field-setting have also led to Hardik being tipped for India captaincy. Post Titans' win in the final, legendary Sunil Gavaskar backed the 28-year-old player as a worthy pick for leadership in the national set-up. India are currently led in all formats by Rohit Sharma, who was appointed earlier this year after Virat Kohli's exit from the role.
"When you have leadership qualities, it automatically opens the door for honours at the national level to be able to captain the Indian national team in the near future," the former India captain told Star Sports.
"The way he has led the team, the way he has got them together, the way he has got them to gel together means he has got leadership qualities," he added.
"Not just my estimation, but everybody's estimation. This was an aspect of his game which nobody had too much information about."
