"He wants to find a way to come out good in difficult situations" - Vijay Shankar dissects Hardik Pandya's captaincy style

Gujarat Titans all-rounder Vijay Shankar has heaped praise on Hardik Pandya for leading from the front and setting an example as captain. The seam-bowling all-rounder stated that Pandya can come up with the goods when needed.

Pandya has earned widespread praise for his captaincy, especially after the Titans' title win last year. The swashbuckling all-rounder has shown proactiveness and has been compared to the great MS Dhoni for his composure.

Speaking at a press conference after the win over the Kolkata Knight Riders, Vijay Shankar observed how Pandya takes up a lot of responsibility and shows the team how things are done. He said:

"Hardik is really aggressive. He wants to find a way to come out good in difficult situations. He always wants to do it for the team. He takes the new ball. He delivered it when we needed the wicket of Rohit Sharma against the Mumbai Indians. He got 66 on a difficult wicket against LSG. He is taking up a lot of responsibility. That's the best thing to do. When you are captain, you have to show the team that this is how it is done."

The Titans' seven-wicket victory came on the back of Shankar's unbeaten 51 off 24 deliveries while chasing down 180. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer added an unbroken 87-run partnership with David Miller to take the defending champions to the top of the table.

"Mentally, I'm really not thinking about that" - Vijay Shankar on playing for India again

Vijay Shankar batting with David Miller. (Credits: Twitter)

The 32-year-old has declared that he is not thinking about returning to the national setup just yet and has his sights on helping the Titans to their second IPL title. Shankar said:

"It's too far for me. Mentally, I'm really not thinking about that. If I can win matches for my team, that's the only satisfaction I can take from every game. I'll be really happy to contribute to my team's wins. Cricket is something we love, that's why we still continue playing. No expectations, I just wanted to enjoy my cricket."

The right-hander has played 12 ODIs and nine T20Is and was part of India's squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup.