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'He's knocking on the door of Indian captaincy but he needs to ...': Shoaib Akhtar's stern warning for Hardik Pandya
Shoaib Akhtar has been left highly impressed with Hardik's captaincy this season, and has even backed him to emulate the role for the Indian team, but has also issued a stern warning.
The 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed some new captains and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya stunned many with his impressive leadership skill throughout the 15th season as he led Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 final in the franchise's maiden season. Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar too has been left highly impressed with Hardik's captaincy this season, and has even backed him to emulate the role for the Indian team, but has also issued a stern warning. (Follow IPL 2022 full coverage)
_1652420489228_(1)_1653811062337_1653811068672.jpg "Shoaib Akhtar; Hardik Pandya")
Hardik played a pivotal role on Mumbai Indians' dominance through the 2018-2021 phase, but after being released by the franchise at the end of the 14th IPL season, he was roped in by Gujarat Titans and was later named their skipper. Under his captaincy, Gujarat finished top of the table before beating Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 to reach the final.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Akhtar admitted that Hardik has left a mark with his impressive leadership skill and is potential future leader of the Indian team, but stressed that he needs to look after his fitness and bowl a lot. He added that if Hardik hopes to make the India squad solely as a batter, it will be difficult for the 28-year-old to find a spot.
“It is the fact that Hardik Pandya is leaving a mark. He is knocking on the door of Indian captaincy. One is not sure how long Rohit Sharma will continue as captain," said Akhtar.
“It’s never easy to captain the Indian cricket team. Hardik has proved his point (as a leader) but he still needs to focus on his fitness and bowling. When he was fit as an all-rounder, he was an automatic choice in the Indian team. As a pure batter, though, there is no vacancy in the Indian team," he added.
Besides a skipper, Hardik also capped off a memorable season as a batter, scoring 453 runs at an average of 45.30 and a strike rate of 132.84. He also bowled in the first half of the season with five wickets at an economy rate of 7.73.
