Ashish Nehra said that he never doubted Hardik Pandya's captaincy, even when people were questioning the Gujarat Titans’ (GT) decision to appoint the Indian all-rounder as captain of the side in their debut IPL season earlier this year.
The Gujarat Titans stunned one and all with their decision to appoint Pandya as their captain for IPL 2022, which left many surprised as the Indian star didn’t have any captaincy experience at any level.
But GT’s decision proved right, as Hardik led the franchise to its maiden title in their debut season in IPL 2022.
After guiding GT to the IPL 2022 title, Hardik’s stocks have only risen, and now he is likely to get Team India’s captaincy in limited-overs cricket. But GT head coach Nehra said that he always knew about Pandya’s potential and never felt he is a new captain.
Ashish Nehra told Jio Cinema: “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. I never doubted that (his captaincy).”
Hailing Pandya, the GT head coach said: “Now, in the hindsight, we are talking after winning, but it's not about winning or losing. 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.”
Nehra continued, “I never felt he is a new captain and he doesn't know what to do. He is a stable guy, he is a confident guy. He knows how to operate in IPL. Maybe, he is not someone who has done a lot of captaincies but he has been part of the IPL.
He was a very important part of Mumbai Indians, who have won many titles. He was there. There was no shortage of IPL experience. 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.”
Nehra further said that Pandya and GT are looking forward to a fresh start, as they are looking to replicate their last season’s success in the upcoming IPL 2023.
He concluded, “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.”
