"Never felt he is a new captain" - Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra lauds Hardik Pandya

Gujarat Titans (GT) coach Ashish Nehra claimed he had confidence in Hardik Pandya's leadership skills from the outset as the all-rounder possessed an aura around him. Nehra feels that years of IPL experience helped Hardik to flourish on his captaincy debut in the 2022 edition.

Hardik had a dream start to his maiden captaincy venture in the IPL as he led the Gujarat Titans to the title in their maiden season.

Returning from a long-standing injury, the ace all-rounder thrived on all fronts, scoring a career-high of 487 runs while batting relatively higher up the order. Hardik also had a memorable tournament with the ball, taking eight wickets.

Speaking on Jio Cinema on the eve of the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23, Nehra stated that few might feel Hardik is a new captain due to his struggles with injuries.

However, the 43-year-old conceded that the all-rounder understands what it takes to do well in the tournament, having been a vital cog for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the past.

"Hardik Pandya, at times, people see him as a new captain, struggling from injuries. But when it comes to his captaincy, the kind of ability he has with the bat, and the ball, the kind of persona he has, he is a very positive person.

"The kind of aura he has shown, if you ask me as a coach, you can look at a player and tell what he is thinking, Hardik Pandya is a very positive guy. I never felt he is a new captain and he doesn't know what to do. He was a very important part of Mumbai Indians, who have won many titles. He was there. There was no shortage of IPL experience."

While the Baroda-born all-rounder's exploits with the bat were significant, he shrugged off his back injury to deliver some impactful bowling spells in IPL 2022. He bagged figures of 4-0-17-3 in the final to restrict the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to 133 and fashion a seven-wicket victory.

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"As support staff, we were trying to help him as much as possible" - Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Nehra further claimed that Hardik and the rest of the team's learning process have been continuous and GT's motivation to keep trying new things is strong. He added:

"Everybody has to start somewhere, nobody is a born captain. And you try to mold them. As support staff, we were trying to help him as much as possible. Even now, me as a coach, or Hardik as captain, we have always tried to learn.

"We look forward to trying out new things. The moment you think you know everything, the first year we won, that would be the start of the end. Hardik Pandya, apart from the results, has been phenomenal."

Ahead of the mini-auction, the defending champions have retained most of their core as they eye back-to-back titles.

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