Hardik Pandya will take up a new role in the IPL, as for the first time in his career he will be leading a team in the IPL: bought for 15 crore, Pandya has been named as the skipper of the Gujarat Titans, one of the two new franchises in the 10-team tournament.
With the IPL no more than a week away, Hardik Pandya has sent out a stern message for his doubters. The 28-year-old said that he’s satisfied with the squad composition that the Titans have assembled at the mega-auction. Being a new team, Pandya asserted that they aren’t focussing on proving anything to anyone else, but to enjoy their own cricket.
“I am quite happy with the team, it is a new team. To be honest, we are not here to prove anything, we are here to play good cricket. We are here to make sure the environment is right and players can flourish,” Hardik said in a video uploaded by the IPL.
There aren’t any overwhelming expectations by the skipper; just keeping their eye on improving as a unit.
“There is no expectation as such, we are going to be a team which will make sure that it keeps improving,” the all-rounder added.
Gujarat Titans will make their IPL debut against the other debutant, Lucknow Super Giants, on March 28 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Hardik, who hasn’t played any high-level form of the game since the T20 World Cup last year, attended the camp at the NCA recently and passed his yo-yo fitness tests.
“Let’s make it clear. Fitness test clearance is only for those who are coming back from injury. In the case of Hardik, it was about getting a general fitness assessment going into the gruelling IPL season. He is an asset and one needed to check his current fitness standards,” a BCCI source told ESPNcricinfo.
Hardik has been battling with back injury issues for more than two years which has rendered him unfit to bowl full tilt; he hasn’t bowled a single ball in the last two IPL seasons and has barely rolled his arm over for India as well.
However, Hardik “didn’t need to bowl at NCA but he has bowled for considerable time and in the range of 135 kmph,” the source added.
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