When it came to Hardik Pandya’s captaincy in the IPL 2022, Sanjay Manjrekar made a significant statement.
Sanjay Manjrekar, a former Indian cricketer, spoke about the current IPL season and made a prediction for Friday’s qualifier at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad between the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He also discussed the impending T20 World Cup. It was also stated that Hardik Pandya, who guided Gujarat Titans to the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in his maiden season, can lead India in the shorter format. “Things are fitting into place for Bangalore, they have great bowlers and they performed well in the last match where Mohammed Siraj took an important wicket,” he remarked when asked why he projected RCB to win the qualification match.
Harshal Patel is the team’s ace in the hole, according to Manjrekar. “They won’t give up now that they’ve reached this point.”
Ahead of their trip to the championship game, Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya “surprised us” with how at ease he appeared in charge of the team.
Hardik Pandya is capable of leading India in T20Is, and he responded positively to the question.
“You can head Side India if you are in charge of a team in the Indian Premier League,” he remarked.
When leading a team in the Indian Premier League, a captain is subjected to enormous pressure and massive stakes.
Initially, he expressed skepticism that two more teams would be included, but he later changed his mind “Only the quality of this IPL will be remembered. Only the lesser-known players were able to keep the IPL’s quality high, not the superstars.”
This season’s newcomers have resisted the “big matches, big players” cliché, according to him.
Manjrekar was asked about Kohli’s recent form and the speculation around his inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad, and he was adamant that he disagreed.
No, Kohli cannot be dropped since the IPL and World Cup are vastly different.
The speaker mentioned Kohli’s half-century in the World Cup match between India and Pakistan. That was not all, he added “At this level, you need players who have been there and done that before. As a result, despite Kohli’s recent poor record, he should be included in the squad alongside Rohit Sharma and other younger players.”
It’s far better for him to play as “one of the players” than as the captain since he takes on too much responsibility after becoming captain, he said, “When KL Rahul plays as one of our players, his performance is a lot better.”
He went on to say, “KL Rahul is a player who can improvise at will. There’s nothing stopping him from playing at a 150-strike rate today. Despite this, he frequently slows down due to the fact that he’s decided to take a safe approach.”
