India vs South Africa: Hardik Pandya Part Of Leadership Group? What Rahul Dravid Said

Head coach Rahul Dravid addressed the media and he too was asked whether the IPL victory means Hardik is now part of the leadership group.

India is all set to take on South Africa in a five-match T20I series starting Thursday and the Indian team came out for its first practice session on Tuesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The focus was on all the newcomers who have been included in the team after good IPL performances. When you talk of IPL performance one has to talk about the man who led debutants Gujarat Titans to the title this season and that is all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

Hardik is back in the Indian team for the first time since T20 World Cup last year and his leadership credentials are the talk of the town currently.

Head coach Rahul Dravid addressed the media and he too was asked whether the IPL victory means Hardik is now part of the leadership group.

“I just met Hardik couple of hours ago. I think his leadership was impressive right through the IPL, he performed well. But I mean you don’t need to be designated a leader to be part of any leadership group,” Dravid said.

“Yeah, in terms of what happens ahead, whether someone leads the team or not, it depends on many factors. The selectors will take the decision based on what they see and what happens in the future, availability of players. It is great we have got a lot of Indian captains doing well in the IPL. Hardik was one of them, Rahul did very well for LSG, Sanju captained RR. Shreyas did it at KKR as well. It helps people grow and develop as players. It really helps you grow as a person also, having to make decisions. It is great from our perspective to see that,” Dravid added.

Dravid though made it clear that the focus about Hardik currently remains on how much he can bowl and the depth his all-round skills can provide the team.

“At this point of time, it is really about from our perspective is that he has started bowling again. You know what that does to us, what depth it brings to the side. So for us really, it would be about ensuring we get the best out of him as a cricketer, in terms of his bowling, in terms of his batting,” Dravid said.