Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra on Saturday said he never tried to convince Hardik Pandya to return to Mumbai Indians but admitted that the star all-rounder's experience would be greatly missed by the team during the IPL scheduled for March 22 began. Pandya, who led GT to the IPL title in their first year before taking them to the final last year, has returned to Mumbai Indians as their skipper for the upcoming season.
“In any sport you have to progress. You can't buy experience and replacing someone like Hardik Pandya or (an injured) Mohammed Shami won't be easy. But that's a learning curve and that's how the team progresses.” Nehra told this to the media on Saturday.
The Pandya-Nehra combination had done wonders for GT in their first two seasons and the inevitable question arose as to whether the head coach was trying to dissuade the skipper from joining Mumbai Indians.
“I never tried to convince Pandya to stay back. The more you play, you gain experience. I could have stopped him if he had gone to another franchise. He (Pandya) played here for two years but he has gone to a team (MI), where he previously played for five to six years,” Nehra was candid in his admission.
Considering the manner in which Pandya's transfer took place, Nehra feels that the day is not far away when IPL will go the way of European club football.
“The way the sport (cricket) is developing, we will have transactions and transfers like we see in international football. It's a new challenge for him and maybe he will learn something new and we wish him the best.”
We will help Gill grow as a leader
Nehra was predictably asked how he viewed Shubman Gill's position as skipper and how he would lead a team full of seniors.
“As the new captain, I want to see how he (Gill) operates and not just me, the whole of India would like to see that because he is that kind of player,” the former left-arm seamer said.
“He wants to play in all three formats and do well, so we as a franchise would like to help him grow more as a person than as a captain. If he grows as a person, he will also grow more as a captain in the future.” and keep getting better,” the coach said.
He cited Pandya's example when he was appointed as the team's skipper in 2022.
“Before joining GT, Hardik had no previous experience of captaining any team. There are 10 IPL teams and you will see more and more new captains. Shreyas Iyer and even Nitish Rana captained KKR. Let's see which guy benefits moving forward. “
Replacement of injured players
The 2011 World Cup winner is optimistic about the possible replacement of his team. Shami has been ruled out after surgery on his Achilles tendon and Rashid Khan is recovering from back surgery.
“IPL is now a 12-person game (Impact Player added) and to fill the shoes of Hardik and Shami, it won't be easy but we have enough people. We have Umesh Yadav, who has played the IPL for more than 12 years,” Nehra said.
He is also hopeful that Tamil Nadu skipper R Sai Kishore, who took 55 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, will deliver the goods.
“Sai Kishore didn't play (much) last year but he is doing so well. So every year you will see new new guys, you have to believe in yourself and prepare for that,” he said.
Asked if Rashid is not getting fit in time, Nehra said: “As far as spinners are concerned, it is not that we don't have experienced spinners. We have Jayant Yadav and Sai Kishore. I firmly believe that you should play to your strengths “Chennai and Lucknow, there will be slow songs and we have to be prepared.” The coach also informed that rookie Jharkhand keeper-batsman Robin Minz, who recently met with a bike accident in Ranchi, is unlikely to play IPL this year.
“It's a shame, but we were also enthusiastic about a man like Minz,” the coach concluded.
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