Newcomers Gujarat Titans defied all odds to emerge as the champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season, defeating Rajasthan Royals in the final. While it was Gujarat’s all-round performance as a unit that helped the team win the title, skipper Hardik Pandya drew plenty of plaudits for his captaincy as he managed to get the best out of a unit that wasn’t considered the strongest on paper.
Gary Kirsten, Gujarat Titans’ mentor for the season, highlighted the leadership quality of Hardik that made a successful leader in the 15th edition of the league. Kirsten also opined that a lot of other captains in the league can learn from Hardik.
“His captaincy was beautiful to watch and a real lesson to many other captains. He never chased the spotlight and the profile that comes with the captaincy. He remained Hardik Pandya the person – easy to talk to, always asking questions about how he can improve, always humble about his own performance, always a calm energy on the field and always a little quirky off the field,” said Kirsten as per Cricbuzz.
Not much was expected from Hardik this season as a captain. The entire focus was on whether he can take the workload of an all-rounder on a consistent basis. While questions remained on Hardik’s fitness in different phases of the campaign, the 28-year-old excelled both with the bat and the ball to lead his franchise from the front.
What also impressed people about Hardik’s performance was how calm he remained throughout the campaign, even during tense moments in the match. Kirsten also highlighted that Pandya played a different role as a batter in the middle-order than what he has been playing in the IPL over the years for Mumbai Indians.
“Hardik Pandya played a massive role as a captain and a very different batting role to what he has done in previous IPLs; he thrived in that space, he loved it. He took on the responsibility of playing more of a middle-order, play-the-situation kind of role rather than just being a hitter at the back, and he did that fantastically,” he said.
