Hardik says leading the side brings out the best in him

MALAHIDE: He struck gold in his debut season as captain in the IPL, and Hardik Pandya admits that responsibility brings out the best in him on a cricket field.

Hardik, who led the Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in the side’s and his debut season earlier this year, has been named as captain of the Indian team for the two-match T20 International series against Ireland, starting here on Sunday. And the dashing all-rounder said he believes in taking ownership on the field.

“Even earlier, I liked taking up responsibility but it is a little different now. I always believed that I did better when I took responsibility,” Hardik said during a virtual press conference on the eve of the first T20I.

“If I can take ownership of my own things and take my own decisions, they tend to be strong. Cricket is such a game, staying strong during situations is very important.

“Whenever responsibility was given to me, I took it and that’s why I became better. While captaining I will see how I can give the same responsibility to every player and give them the ability to fight with situations,” he added.

Playing under two talismanic skippers in Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli has taught Hardik a lot about leadership qualities, but he said every captain has his own style.

“Obviously I have taken a lot of things from them (Dhoni and Kohli) but at the same time I also want to be myself, obviously my understanding of the game is different but I have taken a lot of good vibes from them,” he said.

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 opportuni“There ties. is 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.

“Won’t take Ireland lightly”

Despite fielding a second-string side against Ireland, Hardik said India would approach the short series the same way it plays in a big tournament.

“It’s a challenge mentally, it is easier to say that we are playing against Ireland but playing for India is the biggest pride. If we want to win the World Cup, every match from here is important for us to reach the World Cup final. The first thing I said to all is that it doesn’t matter whom we are playing, we need to focus on our own things,” he stressed. Hardik also said that the team management might give opportunities to some young players, but not at the cost of a strong playing XI.

“We want to give opportunities but at the same time we want to play with our best XI. So, there will be a couple of caps given but at the same time it is about making sure that when we go on the field we have the best XI.”