IND vs AUS, 1st ODI: Hardik Pandya to lead India in Rohit Sharma’s absence
With regular skipper Rohit Sharma set to miss the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium due to family commitments, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been named the stand-in captain for the contest, Cricket Australia reported on Thursday.
“Rohit Sharma to skip the game for some family commitments. Rohit will be back to lead for the final two matches,” as per a report in Cricket.com.au.
The 29-year-old all-rounder, who captained Gujarat Titans to title win in their maiden appearance in the Indian Premier League 2022 season, is already the incumbent leader for India in the shortest format.
Earlier this year, Hardik Pandya, had said that his biggest New Year’s resolution was to win the ODI World Cup later this year.
“The biggest is to win the World Cup. I don’t think any bigger resolution can be there. Really want to win the World Cup, which we will try to do everything possible in our capacity… to go out there and give everything. I think things are looking bright and let’s hope it is,” Pandya said on the eve of three-match series against Sri Lanka.
For Hardik, each and every accomplishment of his is due to the enormous hardwork he has put in and that resulted in a great 2022 for him in T20 Internationals.
“Obviously one year back, things were quite different. When I went out of the sport (because of lower back stress fracture), that was my call to go out and spend time and get better at it.
“It has been a magical year for me, obviously (I) would have liked the World Cup to come with it. But that is part and parcel of life. We tried but it did not happen, but going forward what is next and what I want to achieve, there is a lot to achieve. I have not achieved anything.” Quiz him on managing his bowling workload, Hardik says the only “language” he knows is “language of hardwork”.
“See, I know the language of hard work. I don’t think I have known any other language in my life. I have been thrown here and there, the only thing that has got me back is my hard work. How I manage it is through my hard work.
