Exclusive | Matthew Wade Shares Thoughts on World Cup 2023 & Why Hardik Pandya Could be India's Next Captain
Hardik Pandya's IPL success has boosted his white-ball captaincy chances
Australian wicketkeeper-batter, Matthew Wade is gearing up to ply his trade for London Spirit in the upcoming edition of The Hundred. Ahead of the start of the fast-paced competition, Wade, in an exclusive interview with OneCricket, opened up on several subjects, including the evolution 'of Test cricket, Stuart Broad's retirement, and the upcoming World Cup 2023 in India. He also shared his thoughts on the potential of Hardik Pandya as India's future white-ball captain.
Matthew Wade sat down with OneCricket in an engaging conversation
In a last-minute move following Cricket Australia's decision to withdraw Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh from the London Spirit squad, Wade was drafted to play for London Spirit in The Hundred 2023. The southpaw, who played for Birmingham Phoenix last season, is set to appear in the tournament starting August 1.
Wade expressed his excitement about the upcoming World Cup 2023, however, he acknowledged the difficulty of predicting the four semi-final teams.
The stumper emphasized the significance of the venues in determining the outcomes and since he hadn't analyzed where each team would be playing, he found it challenging to make accurate predictions.
"That’s a tough one. I am looking forward to it. It's going to be fun. I haven’t sat down and worked out where the teams are going to be playing and what the venues are. I think that’s going to play a huge role," said Wade on being asked to predict the four World Cup 2023 semi-finalists.
For instance, Wade mentioned that playing Afghanistan at Chennai on a spinning wicket could be tough for some teams.
Despite the uncertainty, he mentioned that he personally favoured India and believed Australia and England would also be strong contenders. However, he acknowledged that the tournament was open, and any team could emerge victorious on any given day.
"If you play Afghanistan at Chennai and the wicket is spinning, then that’s a tough match for some people so to not know exactly where everyone’s playing is hard to predict but you would think…I like India obviously…I think Australia will be there. England and the way they are playing…It’s tough. If I sat down and looked at the fixtures, I could maybe narrow it down. There are some teams that are still really really strong in their own right. Anyone can win on any day," added the Hobart born cricketer.
Opening up on the prospect of Hardik being India’s next white-ball captain, Wade reckoned that the lanky all-rounder would make an excellent white-ball captain for India in the future. According to him, Hardik's captaincy style stands out for its selflessness and lack of focus on individual achievements.
"I think Hardik would be a wonderful captain for India. He’s the next one for sure. The thing I love about his captaincy is that it’s very selfless, it’s not individualistic. He wants people to go out and play a certain style and he wants people to try and win games for India. He doesn’t necessarily focus so much on individual accolades," stated the dynamic left-hander.
Wade, who plays under Hardik at Gujarat Titans in the IPL, opined that the 29-year-old encourages his teammates to play a specific style and prioritize winning matches for India. He attributed this approach to Hardik's upbringing and his role as a match-winner in the Indian team.
The 35-year-old batter further predicted that if India moves towards having Hardik as their captain, the team will become even more stronger, provided all the players adopt a similar selfless and team-oriented mindset.
"I think that’s come from his upbringing and where he bats in the Indian team or where he has batted. His job has been there to go out there and win games and I think as we move towards Hardik as captain, India is going to be a dangerous team if they all start playing like that," concluded Wade.
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