‘Shades of MS Dhoni’s Captaincy in him’ – Sanjay Manjrekar lauds Indian Player after an excellent IPL 2022

Seeing him roll along as a rejuvenated allround cricketer and inspirational captain, former India Test batter Sanjay Manjrekar says he found shades of the legendary MS Dhoni in Hardik Pandya and how he carried himself throughout IPL 2022. 

Manjrekar showered a big compliment on Pandya, who led new entrants Gujarat Titans (GT) from the front with bat and ball towards their maiden IPL trophy. 

The Titans finished at the top of the standings in the league stage with an unmatched ten wins. They also defeated a resurgent Rajasthan Royals (RR) side twice in the playoffs round to clinch the prestigious tournament title under Pandya’s refreshing leadership. 

Taking charge of the proceedings, the Indian allrounder went on to top the runs chart for his team, scoring 487 runs at 44.27 with a strike-rate of 131.26. The 28-year-old played a highly matured knock of 34 off 30 balls to help GT move past their initial stutters through a tricky chase versus the Royals in the final. 

The summit clash also reinforced the revival of Hardik Pandya the allrounder, as he bowled a spectacular spell of 3 for 17 off his 4 overs. Pandya took all the big wickets – Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer – to derail the Royals and earned the ‘Player of the Match’ award on the biggest stage. 

Sanjay Manjrekar finds Dhoni-like qualities in Hardik Pandya the captain 

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo after Titans’ impressive run to the IPL trophy, Manjrekar was effusive in praise of Hardik Pandya the captain, as he found similarities in his leadership style with that of the remarkably successful India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni. 

A cool and calm demeanour and the tendency to lead the fight aside, Manjrekar said Hardik’s captaincy displayed a few MS Dhoni-like qualities on the tactical front, too, especially in how he backloaded left-arm spinner Sai Kishore for the latter stages of Royals’ batting effort on a dry pitch in Ahmedabad. 

Also Read – Calm, self-assured and resolute as ever, Hardik Pandya offers bright peek into the future

“Hardik Pandya bowled well. In batting too, he batted in all gears while playing at the crucial No.4 spot. He captained the team like MS Dhoni. R Sai Kishore bowled the 16th and 18th overs in the final,” the former India cricketer told ESPNcricinfo. 

“His captaincy was similar to MS Dhoni’s, as he made the decisions according to match situations. He seems to be enjoying the captaincy and looks very relaxed,” he added.