Hardik Pandya will take the challenge of leading the Ahmedabad franchise in IPL 2022.
'Art of Captaincy': Be around your player in rough times
Captaincy is a pretty new thing for Pandya as he had done that only once at U-16 level for Baroda which is chalk and cheese in terms of leadership at this level.
There is no 'manual' for his captaincy but he does have a philosophy which is straight out of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership textbook.
"I will give an example -- when someone is on a high and everything is falling in place, he genuinely does not need anyone, he's at that point in good space and does not need anyone, I have always believed that when someone is having a bad day, that's when he needs you," he said, something that his 'Guru' Dhoni has always followed as a leader.
"My philosophy is that if someone is doing well, as a captain, I will not bother him but when he is down, as a person I will be available if he needs me to hold his hand. That's the motto I would like to follow. For anyone who needs me, I will always be there."
Learnings from Kohli, Dhoni and Rohit
Pandya knows exactly what he would like to imbibe from the three captains he has played under -- Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
"From Virat, I will pick his aggression and passion, his energy which is tremendous. From Mahi bhai it's the composure, calmness, remaining same in every situation, trying to see what new things he can add.
"...and from Rohit, I would pick the freedom as he lets the player decide what he wants to do. These three qualities if I can pick up, it will be a very good combination."
For Ahmedabad, he wants players who can win 'situations'
Having earlier been a part of IPL's most successful franchise Mumbai Indians, Pandya knows what's the perfect recipe for a good T20 team.
"For me, its about players who can play as per situations. It doesn't matter how much firework you have, it's all about situations and picking the right moments and you win," he said in almost similar views as Dhoni.
"When you finish the game, you know who is the winner but there are small moments you have to win in T20 games and for us that's more important. We are focussed on making sure that we win those small battles -- may be doing well in 14th over or 16th over, just an example," he said.
No plans to promote himself for Ahmedabad
As captain, he needs to think about the whole team and strategise accordingly but unless situation demands, Pandya indicated that his preference would be to remain as a slog-over enforcer.
"I have not made any plan regarding that. If situation demands, I will go early, or I will stay back and make sure I look after back-end," he said.
IPL is good start for captaincy but don't look for India captaincy
Leading a franchise in a demanding tournament like IPL is a good start for a new captain but one can't go into a tournament thinking about India captaincy, said the Baroda all-rounder.
"It's a good start as IPL gives the platform to test myself in new role as pressure is very similar. Not saying you are expected to win but everyone wants to win."
"It's a right step to go ahead and eventually get captaincy for your country but you don't look for that. If it's suppose to come it will come."
