Picture Credit: Twitter
Hardik Pandya looks like a completely different cricketer since his comeback. While he was performing before he took a long break, he lacked a bit of temperament when it came to finishing games. But now, Pandya looks solid in his approach and is far calmer. The 28-year-old has shown a different aspect of his personality and that is leadership skills.
No one ever talked about Hardik Pandya as a captain but ever since the all-rounder led Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL title in the first season itself, there are murmurs of involving Pandya in the national team’s leadership group. He was also given a chance to lead the team against Ireland and the West Indies and Pandya did it successfully on all occasions.
Now, as the fans and the whole world is witnessing a completely evolved Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder was asked about what changed for him. To which Pandya simply replied that he learned from his surrounding, his failures, and his go-to-man Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The India all-rounder, who has time and again said that he looks at MS Dhoni as an elder brother, has once again credited the former India captain for his growth.
Pandya said that he always observed the things Dhoni did on and off the field and tried to implement them. "I was just a new kid trying to learn new things about life and sport. MS Dhoni has played a big role in my growth. Whenever I got an opportunity, I used to observe him and learn things. The kind of mindset and knowledge he had, just observing it, it has reflected in my personality on the field," said Hardik on Star Sports.
"It was about owning my mistakes, taking my chances, failing and learning from them. Sometimes it is failures that teach you, not your closest confide, not your aide and to a good extent even Mahi bhai (Dhoni). Some failures you just experience and you learn from them," he added.
Notably, Hardik Pandya put in a match-winning performance against arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening fixture of the Asia Cup 2022. The 28-year-old took three wickets and scored 33* off 17 balls to win the match for India.
