Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has said that he doesn’t mind playing the role MS Dhoni used to play for India during the latter stages of his career as well. Pandya showed a stunning good all-round performance on Wednesday as India beat New Zealand by 168 runs to win the series 2-1 on the back of Shubman Gill’s 126 as well.
While speaking at the post-match press conference, as quoted by Hindustan Times, the veteran said that he had to evolve and wanted to give the team some relief while he was in the middle. He also added that he was ready to sacrifice his strike rate for that and take up new roles as well.
“I’ve always enjoyed hitting sixes. But that’s life, I’ve to evolve. I’ve believed in partnerships and I want to give my batting partner and my team some assurance and calmness that I’m there. I’ve played more games than any of these guys, I’ve learnt how to accept and swallow pressure and make sure everything is calm,” said Pandya.
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“Maybe I have to get my strike rate down for that. Taking new roles is always that I look forward to. I want to take the new ball role too, because I don’t want anyone to come and take that difficult role. If they’re under pressure, then we are chasing the game. I want to lead the front. I’ve been working on my new ball skills. I don’t mind playing the role that somewhere down the line, Mahi used to play. At that time, I was young and hitting all around the park. But since he’s gone, all of a sudden, that responsibility is onto me. I don’t mind that. We are getting the results. It’s okay if I have to play a little slow,” again shared Hardik Pandya.
Pandya, who also picked up a four-wicket haul in the final game of the series, said that he likes to take his own calls as well.
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“To be honest, my Man of the Series goes to the whole support staff. I have always played the game like this, tried to read the situation and what’s required at that moment, and not have pre-conceived ideas. A lot of times I back my guts,” Hardik was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation ceremony. “I have got a very simple rule about my life and captaincy: if I go down, I will go down on my decisions. So at the end of the day, I take calls on my own because I like to take ownership,” he stated.
“When I played the IPL final, I felt the second innings was spicier. We want to normalise these pressure games, and hopefully we can do better at bigger stages,” Hardik Pandya concluded.
