Hardik Pandya, captain of the Gujarat Titans, one of the two new franchises added from IPL 2022, has sent a stern warning to other franchisees and their captains to not take Gujarat lightly even though they are new to the competition.
Pandya was picked by the CVC Capital owned franchise ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction and has been named their captain. This will be the first time Hardik will lead a side in the IPL; he has been with the Mumbai Indians since 2015 playing under Rohit Sharma but was not retained by the Ambani-owned team.
Star Sports, the broadcaster in India for the tournament, released an interesting and innovative promo on Saturday introducing Hardik Pandya in which the all-rounder issued a strong warning for the rest of the teams.
The ad film opens to a very serious situation where two members of the bomb squad are trying to diffuse a live bomb, but are confused after seeing 10 wires of different colours instead of the regular eight.
They decided to take advice from their ‘Sir’, who is none other than Hardik Pandya who appears on a small screen as part of the Explosive Detection Kit. The two men finalize to cut the new wire but Pandya warns them.
Despite Hardik’s constant appeals, they go ahead and cut the new wire but that only triggered the blast. Hardik emerges once again to remind them to not take the new wires for granted.
“Naye ko kam mat samajhna. Naya jab bhi katega, 100 taka fategaa,” Hardik said enthusiactically.
The promo has gone viral already. You can watch it here:
Nayi team ho, ya proven champion, #TATAIPL mein kisi ka bhi ? macha dena, #YehAbNormalHai! ?
Hit
if you can’t wait to watch captain @hardikpandya7 lead @gujarat_titans!
LIVE action begins Mar 26 onwards, on Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar. pic.twitter.com/UZeNFfFDiX
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 12, 2022
if you can’t wait to watch captain Meanwhile, the 15th edition of the cash-rich league is set to kick off on March 26 with last year’s finalists, CSK and KKR, meeting in the first match at the Wankhede Stadium. The two newcomers, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, will face each other on March 28.
Hardik Pandya has been under the scanner regarding his fitness for he hasn’t played any game since the T20 World Cup last year as he has been working on his back injury issues. Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki has given a positive update on it.
“Hardik Pandya is working extremely hard in all aspects of his game, from the rehabilitation and recovery point of view. He is conscious that he has to get up to speed with batting, bowling and fielding… He is on his path to recovery and playing a full part but we have to be patient with the demands,” Solanki told The Telegraph.
“Remember, he is coming back from an injury. Hardik as a batsman is an exceptional addition to any team. But if we take batting, bowling, and fielding together, then he’s a complete package. But having said all that, we have to be conscious of his long-term plans. We are very happy with the way he is progressing.”
Also Read: Sachin Tendulkar Wrote A Special Tweet For Shreyas Iyer After His Batting Heroics Against SL
