New Delhi: Hardik Pandya’s bowling fitness status in the past couple of years had led to conjectures about his apparent ‘lack of communication’ with national selectors and team management. However, the flamboyant all-rounder made it clear Tuesday that ‘everyone knows’ where he stood. The back problem of Hardik Pandya prevented him from not bowling a lot in the past two years. However, he intends to ‘surprise’ everyone during the upcoming IPL where he would be captaining the CVC-owned Ahmedabad franchise.
“They know where I am (in terms of bowling fitness). It has been communicated to everyone,” Pandya said during a media interaction facilitated by the franchise.
It is understood that Pandya has made it clear that he shouldn’t be considered for national selection for the home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. This is because he is still working on his bowling workload.
“Hardik the batter and bowler combined sounds much better than Hardik the batter,” Pandya said. He confessed that he did contemplate becoming a ‘pure batsman’ before deciding otherwise.
Pandya was asked where he is placed in terms of bowling. “It will be a surprise for everyone,” he said, keeping his cards close to his chest.
But Pandya did admit that it has been challenging not being able to perform as an all-rounder. However he asserted that the criticism that came his way during T20 World Cup didn’t bother him much.
“It’s been challenging (not being able to bowl) and I have always given (contributed) in three areas of the game. But when I had decided that I wanted to only bat, I just wanted to spend some time on the ground and it has been challenging, yes,” Pandya admitted.
Constructive criticism is something that Pandya looks forward to. “Healthy criticism is always good, but criticism generally doesn’t bother me as I know what I’m doing. I know how many hard yards I have put in. I have always worked hard for the processes and not the results. Results take care of itself when you put in genuine hard work,” asserted Pandya
‘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. 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. I have always believed that when someone is having a bad day, that’s when he needs you,” Pandya informed.
It is 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,” Pandya added.
What he learnt 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,” Pandya pointed out.