One fighting to prove his captaincy, other to retain spot in Indian squad: KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya's real test

In one way or another, the Indian Premier League (IPL) does have an impact when it comes to the selection of players for the Indian team. Players like Jasprit Bumrah and even the Pandya brothers (Hardik and Krunal) had benefited after their exceptional performance in the cash-rich tournament.

Surely this year's IPL 2022 won't be any different, especially after the two new teams - Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) - are all set to make their debut clash against each other.

While the captains - Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul - will be looking to start their debuting season on a winnings note, a lot will be at stake for the two best friends who will be turning foes.

KL Rahul's captaincy:

When it comes to batting, there is surely not much to complain about the stylish Karnataka batter. However, about his captaincy, it is totally a different ball game. This is not the first time Rahul will be captaincy an IPL side, as he had done the same with his previous franchise Punjab Kings (earlier Kings XI Punjab).

Under his captaincy, Punjab's fate over the past three seasons had ended in heartbreak as Rahul's performance was not enough to power the franchise to the play-offs. Now keeping this in mind, and the BCCI looking to prepare the batter as the future captain of the Indian team, a lot of thinking and gameplan will be needed ahead of the Gujrat clash.

New colours, same commitment pic.twitter.com/nZnggxtZXR

— K L Rahul (@klrahul11) March 20, 2022

Hardik Pandya's spot in Team India:

After being released from Mumbai Indians (MI), the Gujarat side had taken Hardik Pandya under their wings and even named him the skipper. It has to be known that Pandya's form in the recent past has not been up to the mark. 

In fact, despite being an all-rounder, Pandya has only been batting for a long time and has almost stopped bowling after he had undergone surgery. This surely had a negative impact on the Indian team during the ICC World Cup 2021, which saw the Men in Blue clash out in the league stage itself.

Now it has been learnt that Pandya has decided he may not be bowling in the first clash of the IPL 2022, but he also knows his spot in the Indian team is on the line. This is especially after the side has found Venkatesh Iyer who can bat well in the lower middle order. 

Love the new threads, our armour for our first season Let’s get down to work now @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/qn5mJeAo3G

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 14, 2022

Talking about their IPL clash, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya will take the field as opposing captains when new entrants Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans square off in Mumbai on Monday (March 28).