Veteran India opener Robin Uthappa feels that everyone needs to show some patience with Hardik Pandya when it comes to his captaincy as apart from IPL he doesn’t have much captaincy experience. The loss in first two T20Is against West Indies has put Hardik under the scanner. His decision to not bowl Yuzvendra Chahal in the slog overs in the 2nd T20I led to criticism regarding Pandya’s captaincy.
However, Uthappa has come in support of Pandya and said part from his decision to not bowl Chahal, the flamboyant all-rounder has done well as a captain.
“I think Hardik has led well so far, barring the error in judgment by not bowling Yuzi (Yuzvendra) Chahal after he got three wickets (two wickets and a run-out) in the previous over in the second T20I. He has done exceptionally well with the bat. He has done well with the ball as well,” Uthappa said on Jio Cinema.
He hailed Pandya for leading the team from the front with the ball as he claimed two wickets in the first over against West Indies in the 2nd T20I.
“He is taking the responsibility up as a bowler and picked up wickets as well, got the team off to a great start in the second T20I. Having said that, you also have to exercise patience with someone like him, simply because he has only led in the IPL so far,” he added.
Talking about Pandya’s experience as a captain on the international stage, Uthappa believes that it is necessary to give him space.
“He has not led too much in international cricket. So you want to give him that space to figure out and find his feet as a leader within this group as well.”
Hardik has done exceptionally well as captain in the last two seasons in IPL as he led Gujarat Titans to title triumph in 2022 and then guided them to the final in 2023 where they suffered defeat against CSK.
“It takes a little bit of time for that to happen and I think it will be wise for the team management and also for us as supporters of the Indian team to exercise some patience for him to come in and shine through as a leader,” he added.
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