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Although not official yet, Hardik Pandya seems set to be India's captain in next year's T20 World Cup and the foundation for the same was set after the Men in Blue crashed out of the semifinals of the previous edition of the showpiece event.
While Hardik has looked promising overall, there have been times where his captaincy was questioned by fans. One such incident happened in the second T20I against West Indies on Sunday (August 6).
Yuzvendra Chahal had just bowled a sensational over where he picked up a couple of wickets and gave away just two runs. However, instead of bowling him out, Hardik Pandya decided to hold him back potentially for the final over of the match. However, that over never came as Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph completed a thrilling win for the West Indies by two wickets.
On that note, let's take a look at a few other instances when Hardik Pandya's captaincy confused fans a bit:
#3 Giving Umran Malik just one over on debut
Hardik Pandya's maiden IPL title win with Gujarat Titans saw him captain India for the first time in the subsequent T20I series against Ireland. That match was also the international debut for the exciting speedster Umran Malik.
Many wanted to see how Umran performed on the international stage after impressive performances in IPL 2022. However, the speedster was expensive in his opening over as he conceded 14 runs and didn't bowl again. Fans slammed Hardik for not trusting the young pacer enough to give him a chance of making a comeback in the game.
#2 Giving Axar Patel last over against SL in Mumbai
India won the T20I played against Sri Lanka in Mumbai earlier this year in a thrilling fashion by two runs. Interestingly, it was Axar Patel who was given the job of bowling the final over with 13 runs to defend.
Hardik Pandya had bowled three overs in that game and had conceded just 12 runs. He had also shown no signs of injury, making some fans wonder why the captain didn't lead by example by taking the responsibility to bowl the final over.
After the match, Hardik did open up on the decision by saying that he wanted to put the bowlers in tough situations to see how they cope. While this was a welcome move for many, some still criticized it as a pure gamble.
#1 Not bowling out Mohit Sharma against RR
Arguably one of the most baffling decisions taken by captain Hardik Pandya came in the IPL 2023 game between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad.
The match seemed to be in GT's grasp when RR needed as many as 112 runs from the final eight overs. Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer smashed stunning half-centuries to ensure that the visitors snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
However, the result could have been different had Hardik completed Mohit Sharma's overs. The veteran pacer had become Gujarat's mainstay at the backend of the innings and conceded just seven runs in his two overs. Yet somehow, Hardik Pandya gave debutant Noor Ahmad the final over, and Hetmyer got the job done for the Royals.
