After India defeated West Indies by 88 runs in the fifth T20I, stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya stated he would be more than happy to head the team if given the chance.
In the fifth and final T20I of the series at Florida on Sunday, Men in Blue defeated West Indies by an 88-run margin thanks to a half-century from Shreyas Iyer and a strong performance by Indian spinners.
“It is a very special feeling to get a chance to lead your country. Obviously then, winning the game means a lot to me. Captain Ro (Rohit Sharma) did everything well before this game, so I just ensured that we kept doing the good work. (On captaincy) Why not? If given a chance, I will be more than happy to do it. But for now, we have a World Cup coming, it is about getting better as a team. The kind of talent the players have and the freedom we are getting, this is the New India. I can see players playing with freedom and not worrying about failing. And when you do that, you tend to do special things,†said Pandya during a post-match presentation.
Pandya stood in place of Rohit Sharma during the fifth and final T20I against West Indies on Sunday (August 7). Sharma was rested for the match, and Pandya was given the responsibility to lead the team. Under his leadership, Indian team defeated the Caribbean side by 88 runs to finish off the five-match T20I series 4-1.
However, the India all-rounder now wants to focus on the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE and the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia in October.
The all-rounder mentioned that the Indian team is “absolutely close” to being 100 percent ready for the T20 World Cup 2022. He further stated that India’s aggressive batting approach has given more freedom to the players. He also credited the management and the team environment for the success against West Indies.
