Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have given the players more security and freedom, says Hardik Pandya

While the signs were visible for a while now under the new management led by captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, a senior member of the Indian side Hardik Pandya has finally come out and affirmed the thought process.

Pandya, who’s serving as the vice-captain of the team during the ongoing T20I series against West Indies has credited Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid for creating an environment that ensures security, freedom, clear communication with the players as well as the licence to express themselves.

He believes this is in sharp contrast to the methods under former captain Virat Kohli where the team often tried to chop and change and experiment with players without providing them with the necessary feedback or reasoning.

Rohit has wanted to move away from that approach from the previous five-six years. The current approach also allows the Indian team to take up a more aggressive strategy while batting in T20 cricket which is quite welcome given that their dated approach had been found out in the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE.

“Ro gives you a lot of flexibility and freedom which is his strength throughout his captaincy stint whenever I have played with him,” Hardik Pandya said after India took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series with a seven-wicket win in St Kitts.

“Here as well, a lot of credit goes to him and Rahul Dravid the way they have got the team together and making sure a lot of positive mindset comes in and players are feeling secure; they are not looking over their shoulder; making sure they are getting ample chances; they are getting told as well if they are not playing, and that is something which is commendable.”

During the post-match presentation, Pandya also revealed that a few hours before the third T20I, the team had a discussion on whether they should continue with their aggressive batting approach despite the slow nature of the track at the Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts.

An over-aggressive approach had blown up in the faces of the Indian batters during the second T20I. As a result of wickets falling too quickly, India struggled and could only manage a score of 138 before getting bundled out. However, the side persisted with the same formula with Suryakumar Yadav leading the way as the captain had communicated to the players to keep trying the approach keeping the 2022 T20 World Cup in mind.