WI vs IND: Hardik Pandya becomes emotional during national anthem
Ahead of first T20I against West Indies Hardik Pandya was seen with teary eyed during national anthem.
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Thursday, August 3 at Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, India and West Indies played the first T20 International of their three-match series. Rovman Powell, captain of the West Indies, has won the toss and elected to bat first. Prior to the contest, the captain Hardik Pandya was observedbeing emotional during the national anthem. The all-rounder was observed blotting away tears from his eyes.
Notably, Pandya has previously expressed his sentiments on camera. During an interview following India's dramatic victory over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, he became emotional. During the game, the all-rounder contributed significantly with both bat and ball, taking 3/30 (4 overs) with the ball and scoring 40 (37) with the bat.
The 29-year-old also led India in the final two ODIs of the recent series against the West Indies. In the most recent ODI, he scored 70* while blasting four fours and five sixes for a total of 52 runs. Pandya entered the game under duress, as he had a subpar performance in the IPL 2023 and could only score 5 and 7 in the first two ODIs.
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Since India's elimination from the T20 World Cup 2022, the cricketer from Gujarat has been assigned T20I leadership responsibilities. Since then, Pandya has led India in 12 T20 Internationals, accumulating eight wins and two defeats. Additionally, he was appointed vice-captain of the ODI team in January of this year.
When he led Gujarat Titans to an IPL championship in their debut season in 2022, Pandya's leadership skills became widely known. Since then, he has been rumoured to succeed Rohit Sharma as India's white-ball captain.
