Ahmedabad captain Hardik Pandya's 'doors are always open' for the boys

While Hardik Pandya the allrounder is still a work in progress ever since his back began troubling him again the flamboyant India cricketer is all set to don a new avatar when he leads the Ahmedabad franchise one of the two newest entrants in the Indian Premier LeagueUnperturbed by the lack of experience in leading a team barring an under16 outfit once Pandya feels he was always ready for the challenge And as the opportunity has finally arrived he is keen to grab it with both his handsEveryone else will be leaderldquoYou donrsquot have to be a captain to lead Irsquove always believed that you lead in a lot of different ways In my team yes I will be the captain but everyone else will also be a leader in their own role Whatever little opportunities or roles Irsquove been given in the past Irsquove always tried to embrace them and learn something new And now when I have the opportunity Irsquoll try to use all the experience Irsquove got from those little little roles in my captaincyrdquo Pandya said during a virtual interaction with a select media gathering on TuesdayldquoPreparationwise I donrsquot think there is a manual on learning how to become a captain I will always be the guy to take responsibility I have always done that for whichever team I have played Irsquom just looking forward to playing for Ahmedabad I will try to make sure the boys play as one unit They will get enough time from me because thatrsquos what I have learnt over the yearsmdashto give maximum time to the players My doors will always be open for themrdquo added Pandya as he went on to appreciate MS Dhonirsquos role in shaping his career He now looks to imbibe all the qualities of the various captains he has played under ldquoFrom Virat Kohli I would pick his aggression passion and energy which is tremendous With Mahi Dhoni Bhai the composure the calmnessInspiration from seniorsIn every situation he is the same From Rohit Sharma I will pick how he lets the players decide what they want to dordquo explained PandyaHowever at the same time itrsquos also important to lift players when they are down felt Pandya ldquoWhen someone is on a high they donrsquot need anyone When someone is having a bad day thatrsquos when they need you So as an individual or as a captain when someone is feeling down whatever they need from me I will always be available Thatrsquos the motto I believe in Irsquoll try to follow thatrdquolsquoIrsquove always wanted to play as an allrounderrsquoHardik Pandya has copped a lot of flak ever since he was picked as an allrounder for the last T20I World Cup but bowled in just two matches v New Zealand and Afghanistan The recurrence of a back injury has prevented him from bowling Although he said it is a ldquosurprise for everyonerdquo when asked about his bowling he insisted that the Indian team management knows ldquowhere I amrdquoAnd that his fitness situation ldquohas been communicated to themrdquo Pandya revealed that at one stage he did consider playing purely as a batsman but felt that striving to be an allrounder is better ldquoIrsquove realised one thing that I as an allrounder can give a lot of different options to the team For me as an individual it has always been that I want to play as an allrounder and Irsquoll always try to do that And you know Hardik Pandya with bat and ball combined sounds better than just a batterrdquo he signed off