"Nobody has seen him captain so far" - Aakash Chopra on reports of Hardik Pandya going to the Ahmedabad franchise as skipper

Aakash Chopra feels the Ahmedabad franchise will be taking a huge punt if they appoint Hardik Pandya as their skipper for IPL 2022.

Reports suggest the Ahmedabad franchise will be picking Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill in the draft ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. The Baroda all-rounder is also likely to be at the helm of affairs at the CVC Capital Partners-owned franchise.

Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was slightly skeptical of Pandya's captaincy credentials. He explained:

"Hardik Pandya could be the captain of the Ahmedabad franchise. The Ahmedabad franchise has played a big bet. You have not seen his captaincy, nobody has seen him captain so far. So that is going to be a different ball game altogether."

However, the former India cricketer acknowledged that Pandya's presence might enhance the local fan following of the franchise. Chopra observed:

"Of course, he is of that region, so there is a connection. You get a local brand ambassador. There are still question marks over his fitness, there are still some concerns regarding his bowling but he might just be there as a captain as well."

Hardik Pandya, who was not retained by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, never captained the franchise in the tournament. However, the 28-year-old has often been sharing his thoughts with the bowlers even while playing for the Indian team.

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"Fitness is the only issue with Hardik Pandya" - Aakash Chopra

Hardik Pandya has been laid low by fitness issues of late

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Pandya brings unique traits to the table if not for his fitness-related concerns. He elaborated:

"Fitness is the only issue with Hardik, otherwise, he is a gun player. I will say he is a No. 4 batter and a three-over bowler. There is no batter of his quality in the whole of India, there are very few in the entire world as well."

The reputed commentator pointed out that the all-rounder could not live up to the expectations from him at the T20 World Cup 2021. Chopra said:

"He is India's heritage. I was excited and gung-ho about him that he will change our fortunes in the World T20, he is going to bat and ball like that, but there were fitness issues."

Pandya has been out of action from competitive cricket since the T20 World Cup 2021. He reportedly even asked the selectors not to consider him for the Indian team's ongoing tour of South Africa as he wanted to regain his fitness.