Hardik Pandya was handed the captaincy role in three T20I matches in 2022 and former New Zealand star Scott Styris feels the Indian all-rounder has it in him to become the full-time T20I captain for India. Styris, who himself was an all-rounder during his playing career, has also said that Pandya’s style suits the format naturally.

The Indian all-rounder was given the India captaincy in two T20I matches against Ireland earlier this year. The 28-year-old was once again named the captain of the Indian side in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in the fifth and final T20I match against West Indies on August 7, a match that India won.

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He has also shone in the captaincy role in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as he led debutants Gujarat Titans to title victory in 2022. Pandya’s captaincy received widespread acclaim during the IPL, which was followed by the three T20I captaincies he was given for the national team.

“I wouldn’t be surprised maybe not for this tournament (Asia Cup), but in the future that we do see Hardik Pandya leading this T20 team,” Styris told News18.

Pandya has been included in India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 in late August, however, regular captain Rohit Sharma has retained the captaincy while KL Rahul has been named the vice-captain.

“I think it’s an intriguing discussion because again, six months ago, I don’t think it’s something we all thought would even be talked about, but Hardik Pandya has made every poster winner,” Styris said.

“You see it a lot in football, where players of character and personality are often given the armband to be captain to also allow them to show some responsibility,” he continued.

The 47-year-old also said that the Indian squad will have a positive effect if Hardik Pandya becomes the full-time captain considering the squad is currently trying to adopt a more aggressive approach in the shortest format of cricket.

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“So, I don’t mind this for Hardik Pandya to be given some leadership in this side, whether now be the vice-captain or in the future as a captain because quite rightly what is the direction this Indian team wants to go, whether it’s T20 in terms of its brand, how do they want to play the game? Because Hardik Pandya certainly has the personality of today’s player, where they want to go out and expand and show their skills and really just show off to everybody with how good they are,” he said.

The former New Zealand all-rounder also added that he thinks leadership qualities grow gradually and is distributed in the team.

After the fifth T20I win over West Indies, Hardik Pandya was asked whether he wants to become the Indian captain in the format when he answered he will be happy to do so.