Hardik Pandya claims his 'calmness' comes from his first captain MS Dhoni

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been one of the key members of the Indian cricket team across all formats, made his debut under MS Dhoni's captaincy. The all-rounder has proved his worth as he has contributed immensely in all the departments of the game on numerous occasions. One of the most memorable moments of Hardik Pandya's India career was when he bowled and defended 11 runs in the final over against Bangladesh in 2016 T20 World cup quarter-final.

ALSO READ | IPL: Hardik Pandya claims ex-Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting has made him the player that he is today

Hardik Pandya reveals takeaways from cricketers MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli 

The youngster, who was only in his first year of international cricket, maintained his calm and bowled a superb over. Now, Hardik Pandya has revealed that he learned the ability to stay calm from MS Dhoni. He added that he picked up the ‘hunger’ to win from Virat Kohli. While Pandya's hunger and aggression is unquestionable, his cool demeanour is seen more off the field than on it, making his claim interesting.

Hardik Pandya was in a conversation on Cricbuzz with cricket analyst Harsha Bhogle where he said that he has never had one specific role model. He claimed that he always wanted to learn from the best, different things from different people and wanted to combine that in my game. Hardik Pandya believed that from 2015, when he made it to the IPL, he always wanted to learn from people. Hardik Pandya also revealed that’s when he realised that Kieron Pollard is someone who relates to his game.

ALSO READ | Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya says IPL behind closed door an option

MS Dhoni is one of the greatest captains to have graced the sport. MS Dhoni is known for his cool and calm demeanour on the field, which is also cited as one of the reasons behind his success. MS Dhoni is the only captain in world cricket who has won all the three ICC events (T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup & Champions Trophy) as captain. India became a force to be reckoned with under MS Dhoni's captaincy.

ALSO READ | Hardik Pandya picks MS Dhoni over Rohit Sharma as all-time IPL XI captain

On the other hand, after MS Dhoni relinquished captaincy duties, Virat Kohli took over and the right-hander has done an impressive job of leading the team. India won it's first-ever Test series in Australia under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. India's performance overseas has also improved massively, which has often led to the comparisons between the two champion cricketers. The Indian captain is a highly competitive character and hardly gives an inch and it is his hunger to win that separates him from other captains.

ALSO READ | Hardik Pandya divulges more details on 'relationship' with Natasa Stankovic

IMAGE COURTESY: AP