IPL 2022: "Very interesting choice as captain" - Dinesh Karthik picks his dark horse team

Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has picked the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans (GT) as the dark horse in IPL 2022.

Pandya wasn't retained by his boyhood franchise Mumbai Indians and was drafted by Gujarat Titans ahead of the season. Although GT have shown faith in the 28-year-old's captaincy credentials, he doesn't have much experience.

Karthik labeled Pandya a "very interesting" captaincy choice, saying he's keen to see whether the all-rounder can transfer his "flamboyance" to his teammates. He feels that Pandya has always "walked the talk" and will now try to use the same philosophy as a leader, which makes his IPL team worth watching closely.

Karthik told Cricbuzz on Monday:

"For me, I am very keen to see how Gujarat Titans go because personally, I feel Hardik Pandya is a very interesting choice as captain. He has all the flamboyance [and] whether he can transfer that into his teammates [remains to be seen]. He's somebody who's very confident about his abilities and in many ways, walks the talk. It will be very interesting to see his kind of leadership, the way he takes that team forward."

Karthik even said Pandya has the skills to be a "great all-rounder," adding that he's primed to have a good season personally. He explained:

"He's got all the skills that have been in great all-rounders who've done well for their countries... He's got [a] great attitude, obviously he's a very flashy batsman, I am very, very sure he's going to be bowling in this IPL and we all know he's a terrific fielder so personally, he's going to be in a good nick. But... he's the leader of a team now so how he's able to guide the youngsters is going to be a very interesting watch this season."

Gujarat Titans will kick off their IPL 2022 schedule against the other debutant team of the season, Lucknow Super Giants, on March 28 at the Wankhade Stadium.

Check out the IPL 2022 News here.

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Full squad of Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans for IPL 2022

Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudarshan.