India vs South Africa 5th T20: Hardik Pandya has ability to lead India in T20s, former selector makes a BIG statement

India all-rounder and Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya has emerged as a leader after he took his side to title win in their first-ever season. Hardik's maturity and conduct has impressed many, including former Indian wicketkeeper/batter and selector Saba Karim. As per Saba, Hardik is the leader for the future as he has shown great level of maturity as captain in IPL 2022 while leading the debutants GT. The 28-year-old cricketer from Baroda was named as the captain of the national side for the Ireland T20s that are set to take place on June 26 and 28. A few months earlier questions were being raised over Hardik's future as he continued to deal with a series of injuries. But the IPL 2022 performance has changed eveything for good. 

"A just reward for his skills. And the way he has conducted himself on and off the field. A great opporunity as you rightly said. I believe he has the ability to take the team forward. The players have rallied around him. I am sure same thing will happen for T20 national side," said Saba on Hardik's appointment as India captain, while speaking to a group of Indian journalists on Friday (June 17). 

In-flight insightful conversation _
Learning from the great @msdhoni _
Being an inspiration _

DO NOT MISS as @hardikpandya7 & @DineshKarthik chat after #TeamIndia's win in Rajkot. _ _ - By @28anand

Full interview ___ #INDvSA | @Paytmhttps://t.co/R6sPJK68Gy pic.twitter.com/wx1o9dOPNB — BCCI (@BCCI) June 18, 2022

He also said that Hardik has impressed the team management at Gujarat Titans as he has been an inspiration for not just the domestic but overseas players as well. 

"With the fact that they have named him as captain for these T20 internationals, it signifies that they hae him in mind as well. There is KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and all of them are in line for white-ball captaincy. Hardik Pandya has shown immense maturity on the field the way he has conducted himself. I receive a lot of excellent reports from team management the way he has inspired a lot of his players. Not just the domestic players but also the overseas players. All of this bodes really well for India. Good to see Hardik fit and raring to go," said Saba. 

Watch the LIVE coverage of Ireland vs India - 1st & 2nd T20i on SONY SIX (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) & SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on 26th & 28th June 2022 from 9:00 pm IST.