IPL 2022: 'Very interesting choice as captain,' Dinesh Kathik picks his underdog team

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) player Dinesh Karthik has picked Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans as his underdog team ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

IPL is now a 10-team tournament, with Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants having joined the existing eight teams.

After Mumbai Indians (MI) did not retain their talented and loyal Hardik, he was drafted by Gujarat ahead of the mega auction at INR 15 crore. Gujarat have shown faith in the all-rounder by naming him their captain even though the Baroda player does not have much experience in that department.

"For me, I am very keen to see how Gujarat Titans go because personally, I feel Hardik Pandya is a very interesting choice as captain. He has all the flamboyance [and] whether he can transfer that into his teammates [remains to be seen].

He's somebody who's very confident about his abilities and in many ways, walks the talk. It will be very interesting to see his kind of leadership, the way he takes that team forward," Karthik told Cricbuzz.

Karthik, who previously captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, has backed Pandya to bowl in the upcoming tournament. The wicketkeeper-batsman has also said Pandya has the skills to be a "great all-rounder".

"He's got all the skills that have been in great all-rounders who've done well for their countries... He's got [a] great attitude, obviously he's a very flashy batsman, I am very, very sure he's going to be bowling in this IPL and we all know he's a terrific fielder so personally, he's going to be in a good nick.

But... he's the leader of a team now so how he's able to guide the youngsters is going to be a very interesting watch this season," added Karthik, who is set to play alongside Virat Kohli at RCB.

Gujarat Titans are set to kickstart their maiden IPL campaign by taking on their fellow debutant team Lucknow Super Giants on March 28 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Considering Pandya played for MI for six seasons, he is expected to get full backing from the Wankhede crowd.

Interestingly, the opposite side will be led by KL Rahul, who is not only Pandya's India teammate but also a very good friend.

Gujarat Titans Full Squad For IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Jason Roy, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Dominic Drakes, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudharshan