'If you show lot of emotions, players get fearful': Karim shares words of wisdom for captain Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya's India started 2023 with a bang by defeating Sri Lanka by two runs in the first T20I of the three-match series, at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Tuesday (January 03). Hardik & Co. were asked to bat first and rode on Ishan Kishan's 37, Deepak Hooda's 41* and Axar Patel's 31* to post 162-5. In reply, Shivam Mavi's 4 for 22 and Umran Malik's 2 for 27 led to SL being all-out for 160 on the final ball to lose by two runs.

Ahead of the second and penultimate tie, to be held in Pune on Thursday (January 05), former Indian stumper and selector Saba Karim has shared words of wisdom for new captain Hardik.

Speaking to India News, Karim pointed out, "I think he needs to focus on his attitude. Everyone likes him as a player because of his attitude. As a captain, if you show a lot of emotions on the field, players will get fearful. I don’t think that’s the right thing for a team to grow. You have to trust your players."

Karim further opined, "I liked two things about captain Hardik Pandya. He said that he wanted to bat regardless of the toss. It means he knows the challenges ahead; bilateral matches are aside, but you have to learn something in every match and put your team in a tough situation."

“The second thing is that debutant Shivam Mavi bowled in the powerplay. It means that, as a captain, he wants to lead by example,” added the former cricketer.

India and Sri Lanka will lock horns in the second and penultimate T20I on Thursday evening as the hosts will be eager to wrap up the series in style. Hardik, who hasn't been named as the official full-time T20I skipper, will be desperate to make a mark as a leader -- with strong rumours of him being looked upon as the future white-ball captain -- and take India to a series win.

Hardik himself had a decent outing in the Mumbai game, scoring 29 runs and returning with 3-0-12-0 with the ball.