3 things to look forward to from captain Hardik Pandya in New Zealand T20Is

Hardik Pandya is the captain of the Indian team in their ongoing T20I series against New Zealand. This is the third time Pandya is leading the Indian squad in an away series. He previously led the Indian squad in T20Is against Ireland and West Indies before the T20 World Cup 2022.

Pandya has an excellent record as skipper in T20s this year. He first won IPL 2022 with the Gujarat Titans and followed it up by winning his first three T20Is as captain. It will be interesting to see if his unbeaten record stays intact during the tour of New Zealand.

Before the first ball of the India vs New Zealand T20I series is bowled, here's a look at the three things fans should look forward to from 'captain' Hardik Pandya.

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#1 Hardik Pandya's batting position

New Zealand v India - 1st T20 (Image: Getty)

Hardik Pandya generally batted at number three or four for the Gujarat Titans during the IPL season earlier this year. However, in the T20 World Cup 2022, he batted at either number five or six as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav occupied the first four spots.

Depending on the situation of the match, the team management sent Hardik at number five or six. Since Sharma, Rahul and Kohli have been rested for this series, there is a possibility that Pandya could promote himself up the batting order.

According to a report by PTI, Hardik is set to become India's next T20I captain. The all-rounder himself has affirmed that the New Zealand series marks the beginning of the road to the T20 World Cup 2024. In that case, Pandya will be keen to lock his batting position as soon as possible.

During the two T20Is against Ireland, where he was the captain, Hardik batted at number four and five once, whereas in the game against West Indies, he went out to bat at number five again. It will be interesting to see at which position he bats against New Zealand.

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#2 Will Hardik Pandya open the bowling?

Pandya used himself as a powerplay bowler while playing for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. He came in to bowl the second over of the innings and one or two overs in the powerplay. He followed the same strategy during the Ireland T20Is as well.

This move allows India to have more overs of their specialist bowlers in the final phase of the innings. However, Team India did not use Hardik this way during the T20 World Cup. Fans are keen to see if Hardik decides to bowl in the powerplay against the aggressive Kiwi openers.

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#3 Can captain Pandya solve the 19th over problem?

Death bowling is one of the areas of concern for Team India in T20Is, but the biggest problem is the 19th over. In recent matches, different Indian bowlers have leaked a lot of runs in the 19th over of the opposition innings.

It would be great if India could find a specialist for that phase of the innings. Captain Hardik Pandya has many options available with him in the bowling department for this series. All eyes will be on the skipper and whom he hands the ball to when the 18th over of the New Zealand innings gets completed.