Hardik Pandya shifts focus to winning World Cup after IPL triumph

After leading Gujarat Titans (GT) to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title, skipper Hardik Pandya turns his attention to winning a World Cup for India. He will have a chance to do so in the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year, followed by the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2023.

Hardik played a pivotal role in the final, picking up three wickets with the ball and with the bat, steadied the innings with a 30-ball 34, coming in at four. 

"Absolutely to win the World Cup for India no matter what happens," Hardik said in the post-match press conference when asked about his immediate goals.

"I am gonna give it everything I have. Always been that kind of guy to put the team first. For me the goal will be simple: to make sure my team gets it the most.

"Playing for India has always been kind of [a] dream come true no matter how many games I have played. It has always been a pleasure for me to represent the country.

"The kind of love and support I have got is only from the Indian team point of view. Long term, short term, I want to win the World Cup no matter what happens."

Hardik, who has won the IPL title four times previously adds that this is more special given that he has won it as captain. "Winning IPL is always special. I consider myself very lucky that I have played five finals, and have lifted the trophy five times," the all-rounder said.

"Obviously this will leave a legacy because we are a new franchise, playing for the first time, and we are champions in the first season. But the four that I have won before this were equally special." 

Hardik batted mostly at four in the entire tournament and finished as his team's highest run-getter with 487 runs at 44.27. However, his strike-rate took a dip, as he accumulated those runs at 131.26, which was not the case when he batted lower down the order for Mumbai Indians (MI), where he largely played as a finisher.

However, Hardik is not too concerned about that. "Any given day I'd take the trophy [more] than me batting at [a strike rate of] 160 or 170," Hardik said at the post-match presentation. 

"Team is the most important, whichever team I play for. I have always been that kind of individual. Outside noise does not bother me, and if I have to sacrifice and have a worse season and my team still wins, I'll take that.

"I've always fancied myself as a batter. Batting comes first to me, it's always going to be close to my heart, so, obviously when we got the auction done, it was clear that I had to bat up the order to guide [the team through the middle overs]. 

"I have been in this kind of situation before, so for my team, I thought that it's the best position for me to bat, so that all the other batsmen can come and express themselves."