Watch: Hardik Pandya's post-match captaincy gesture after India vs Ireland T20I brings back memories of MS Dhoni

Hardik Pandya the captain doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong. After succeeding in his maiden stint as captain in the IPL, Hardik led Gujarat Titans to a title win this year, and now, in his first series as India captain, beat Ireland 2-0. Pandya ticked almost all the boxes in his first assignment as India captain – his decisions were well effective and well thought of while he looked good with both bat and ball.

It may still be early days in Hardik's captaincy tenure, but the all-rounder, who made his international debut under MS Dhoni back in 2016, completed a full circle. After India won the series to be crowned champion, Hardik's gesture during the post-match presentation ceremony, brought back memories of the legendary Dhoni.

After being handed the trophy, Hardik handed it to youngster Umran Malik, who not only made his India debut in the series, but bowled the all-important final over that won his team the match by four runs. After handing the trophy to Umran, Hardik stealthily moved to the background and was seen at the extreme left in the group photograph. Many years ago, it was Dhoni who started this practice, of handing over the winner's trophy to a youngster in the team, and moving right at the back. When Dhoni stepped down as captain. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma carried the same practice and now Hardik has too.

"I was trying to keep all the pressure out of my equation. I wanted to be in the present and I backed Umran. He has pace, with his pace it's always going to be tough to get 18 runs. They played some amazing shots, they batted very well, credit to them and credit to our bowlers for holding their nerves," Hardik said after the match.

"The crowd, their favourite boys were Dinesh and Sanju. Great experience to experience this side of the word. A lot of support comes for us, we try to entertain them and hope we did that. Thanks to everyone who supported us. As a child it's always a dream to play for your country. Leading and getting first win was special, now winning the series is special as well. Happy for Deepak and Umran."