“He is knocking on the door of Indian captaincy” - Shoaib Akhtar highly impressed with Hardik Pandya’s leadership for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar reckons that Hardik Pandya has thrown his hat in the ring for the Indian captaincy after showing impressive leadership skills for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2022.

The all-rounder has guided Gujarat to the IPL final in their maiden season in the T20 league. They will take on the Rajasthan Royals (RR), who will be featuring in their first final since 2008, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (May 29).

Previewing the clash, Akhtar told Sportskeeda that the GT skipper can definitely be considered for India's captaincy in the near future. He said:

“It is the fact that Hardik Pandya is leaving a mark. He is knocking on the door of Indian captaincy. One is not sure how long Rohit Sharma will continue as captain.”

The 46-year-old, however, added that Hardik will need to work on his fitness and bowling first to make a comeback as an all-rounder in the national team. The Rawalpindi Express explained:

“It’s never easy to captain the Indian cricket team. Hardik has proved his point (as a leader) but he still needs to focus on his fitness and bowling. When he was fit as an all-rounder, he was an automatic choice in the Indian team. As a pure batter, though, there is no vacancy in the Indian team.”

Pandya has been one of GT’s star performers with the bat in IPL 2022. He has 453 runs to his name in 14 matches at an average of 45.30 and a strike rate of 132.84. With his medium pace, he has chipped in with five wickets at an economy rate of 7.73.

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“Rashid Khan has complemented Hardik very well” - Shoaib Akhtar

Sharing his thoughts on one of the key members of the GT outfit, Akhtar pointed out that leg-spinner Rashid Khan has complemented the team captain really well, contributing as an all-rounder. Praising the Afghanistan cricketer, he said:

“Rashid Khan has complemented Hardik very well. He has done the job with both bat and ball. He is a wonderful character and an asset for the team.”

The 23-year-old has picked up 18 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 22.38 and a strike rate of 6.73. With the bat, he has smashed 91 runs at a strike rate of 206.81.

Rashid was brilliant in Qualifier 1 against RR, conceding only 15 runs in his four overs.