Gary Kirsten, the batting coach and mentor of new IPL franchise Ahmedabad, feels that Hardik Pandya will be keen to prove his worth as a leader in the upcoming Indian Premier League.
The CVC Capital-owned franchise on Friday (January 21) bought Hardik for INR 15 crore and named him the captain of the side. Apart from Pandya, they picked Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill for INR 15 crore and INR 8 crore respectively.
"I am looking forward to working with Hardik as a young and new captain. I think he will be really motivated to come in and make a plan and show what he is capable of at this level of the game as a leader. He's a great player. What I have heard is that he is really keen to get into the mix and get involved," said Kirsten on Star Sports' show 'IPL Selection Day'.
"I think he understands the importance of this tournament. What I have heard is that he is raring to go and get into the mix from a leadership perspective. So, I think that's really exciting for us to have a player with such a level of skill, motivated to do well in this competition," he added.
Commenting on the decision to draft in Rashid and Gill, Kirsten said: "I am really excited by both of them. They are both high performers - Rashid Khan has gone around the world, proven his value anywhere, so that's an incredible signing for us. I am very excited to work with him - I haven't yet - but I have seen him a lot, have met him a few times, but have never really worked with him. So, I am looking forward to that. Certainly, watching him on the field, he's a very competitive, young man that wants to do well for the franchise that he's been involved in."
"Gill is a fantastic player, who, in my view, should be playing for India. He is on the verge of that and has played already. With great flair and instinct for the game, he could be a match-winner on his own. From a batting perspective, I am looking forward to working with him and helping him give the best out of an IPL season. We're playing in the best competition in the world, just to make sure that's it's something important for us as a franchise and that the players come in and realize that it is an honour to be part of this franchise and performing for this team," he further stated.
Talking about his role as batting coach and mentor, Kirsten said: "My role, designation is Team Mentor / Batting Coach, so I am going to have my hands full with handling a lot of work at ground level, but essentially, just to be assisting players in preparing them to be the best versions of themselves and the team that they are going to play. I love the coaching and I am really looking forward to the role. I have journeyed a lot through IPL, of four years. I've been involved in a lot of short-format matches and got a decent understanding of what a team needs to do, how you need to find that winning flow, which is a priority in IPL."
Besides Gary Kirsten, the Ahmedabad team has appointed former India pacer Ashish Nehra as head coach while ex-England batter Vikram Solanki has been named Director of Cricket.
