Harbhajan Singh: 'Hardik Pandya proved that he can lead India in the future'

Thanks to his intent and positive captaincy with Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022, Harbhajan Singh believes Hardik Pandya can captain the Indian side.

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In a recent interview, Harbhajan Singh touted Hardik Pandya as a captaincy option. Pandya, who captained his Indian Premier League (IPL) team Gujarat Titans (GT) to victory in its first season, displayed intent and positive captaincy, according to Harbhajan. After KL Rahul's unfortunate injury, Hardik Pandya will play as vice-captain in his first game back in more than six months. Along with being a shrewd tactician, Pandya also led his team by example as he became the first Indian in IPL history to score at least 450 runs and take eight wickets in a season. Pandya also had a Man-of-the-Match performance in the 2022 IPL Final, taking three wickets before scoring 34 crucial runs. Harbhajan, who shared the dressing room with Pandya for three seasons with Mumbai Indians (MI), was impressed by his leadership.

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About Pandya, Harbhajan told PTI, "One of the biggest revelations in this year's IPL was the advent of Hardik Pandya as the skipper of the Gujarat Titans, and the way he led the team from the front to win the coveted title is praiseworthy. His intent and positive captaincy are signs that he can lead Team India in the future."

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Harbhajan said about the India-South Africa series that starts on Thursday, "It's a golden opportunity for these youngsters to do something special ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup later this year. The team management has injected the young blood into the squad against South Africa this time, and they have every potential to make it big before the flagship event."

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The spinner also pinpointed spinner Yuzvendra Chahal as a player he'll look out for in the series, saying, "Yuzvendra Chahal is currently in the form of his life, thanks to his amazing show in the IPL, that earned him 27 wickets, the most by any bowler this season. What sets Chahal apart from the rest is how he has evolved as a top-notch spinner over the years and never compromised on the line and length, which is very important for a spinner. Therefore, he will be pivotal in this T20 series against South Africa."