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‘I’m good enough, not here to show anything to anybody': Hardik Pandya on if he should be considered as future captain
Hardik, who was the vice-captain in the recently-concluded home series against South Africa, has slowly made his way into the leadership group of the Indian side. The all-rounder, however, is not bothered about that, he instead wants to focus on the job at hand and lead India to victory against Ireland.
Hardik Pandya, who won IPL with Gujarat Titans on the first attempt, is set to lead India for the first time in the two-match T20I series in Ireland starting on June 26. Hardik, who was the vice-captain in the recently-concluded home series against South Africa, has slowly made his way into the leadership group of the Indian side. The all-rounder, however, is not bothered about that, he instead wants to focus on the job at hand and lead India to victory against Ireland. "I am not here to show anything to anybody. I have got an opportunity to lead India, which itself is a big thing for me. I don't play this sport to show anything to anybody. I am good enough. Hardik said in a virtual press conference on Saturday when he was asked whether he would want to show the team management that he can be a captaincy option in the future.
"I will see in the future, otherwise more than anything I am just focussing on what I can bring in this series," he added. India are missing regulars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja who all are currently in England preparing for the Birmingham Test starting on July 1. These two matches against Ireland therefore might be the last opportunity to try out youngsters ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Watch: Saini stuns Jadeja with a snorter, dismisses him for a duck
Hardik said India would field their best XI but they would definitely want to try out new options as well. "We want to give the opportunity to people but at the same time, we want to play with the best XI as well. But there will be situations, where we will be giving caps to people. It's about making sure that when we go into the park, we have the best XI playing. So, that will be the focus," he added.
India has bench strength now
India is fielding its reserve players in the series against Ireland and Hardik said the bench strength India possesses now is a good sign for the game in the country.
"If such a situation arises that we have to send two teams, we are very lucky that we have the bench strength where we can allow the players to go and express and a lot of people will get opportunities."There are so much talent in India that people don't get opportunities. Playing for India is always a dream and for them to achieve that dream will be really fantastic," he said.
"The way talent has come up and the character the players have shown and the way we played, it indicates India's bench strength. There are plenty of options right now in Indian team. Four people are still fighting for places in the team. They are knocking the doors, so it can be better than that."
