IND vs NZ 2023: Has ticked every box that a captain needs to – Dinesh Karthik on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy

India’s veteran wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik believes Hardik Pandya has ticked every box that a captain needs to. Pandya has been leading the team in the T20I format in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Hardik was first given the captaincy baton for the two-match T20I series against Ireland after he led Gujarat Titans to glory in his maiden stint as captain in the IPL.

After the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, Pandya led India to a 1-0 T20I series win against New Zealand. Subsequently, the all-rounder helped India in a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka earlier in the year.

Pandya is a captain who demands the respect of his players and he has been leading from the front. The all-rounder is getting the best out of the young players and these are positive signs for Indian cricket.

Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz, “He has done a pretty good job in the limited time that he has been a captain. I will always judge the captaincy after a couple of years because the golden period is when you start, as you have a lot of things going for you. You’ve got to wait a couple of years before you judge him as a captain.

“But for far, he has ticked every box that a captain needs to have while leading Team India. He has, in many ways, surprised a lot of people who thought that he wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, who has been in terrific form in the ODI format, failed to grab his chance in the second T20I against New Zealand, getting dismissed for only 11 runs. Furthermore, Gill could only score seven runs in the first game. Karthik feels it will be hard on Gill if he is replaced by Prithvi Shaw in the final T20I against the Kiwis.

“It would be very unfair to Shubman Gill if he is replaced by Prithvi Shaw. For Shaw, the most important series is the IPL. That’s when fortunes change. If he has a good year with the Delhi Capitals, everything will look very different from thereon.”

The final and third T20I of the series will be played on Wednesday in Ahmedabad.