IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya Assures Creating 'Right Environment' For His Players To Flourish

There is a lot of hyle and build-up to Hardik Pandya leading an IPL team. He was one of the three players picked by the franchise ahead of the mega auction. Pandya was also named as the skipper of the franchise. This is the first time he is leading an IPL team in any capacity. 

Gujarat Titans will be Hardik Pandya’s second IPL team. He joined Mumbai Indians in 2015 and played for them till 2021. However, Mumbai did not retain Hardik which allowed Gujarat to add him to their squad. His brother Krunal who also played for Mumbai Indians between 2017-2021 will now play for Lucknow Supergiants. 

Meanwhile, addressing the press conference at The Titans’ jersey launch Hardik Pandya said that they are not here to prove anything to anyone but to play good cricket and win. He further said that as a captain he wants to create an environment where his players flourish and play to their full potential. 

Will Make Sure Team Keeps Improving: Hardik Pandya

“I was just spending time with my family, working hard as always. (I’m) making sure I prepare well. I’m quite happy with the team. It is a new team and to be honest, we are not here to prove anyone anything. We are here to play good cricket. We are here to make sure that the environment is right for the players to flourish in their own capacity,” Pandya said on Friday in a snippet posted by the official Twitter account of the Indian Premier League.

“There’s no expectation as such. We are going to be a team that makes sure it keeps improving,” he added. The squad is currently preparing for the season at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

The IPL 2022 kicks off on March 26 with CSK and KKR playing the season opener at the Wankhede stadium. Gujarat takes on fellow newcomers Lucknow in their first game on March 28 at the Wankhede stadium as well. 

Gujarat Titans Squad: Rashid Khan, Hardik Pandya (C), Lockie Ferguson, Rahul Tewatia, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, Yash Dayal, David Miller, Sai Kishore, Abhinav Sadarangani, Matthew Wade, Alzarri Joseph, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Dominic Drakes, Varun Aaron, Gurkeerat Singh, Noor Ahmad, Darshan Nalkande, Pradeep Sangwan

Also Read: IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya Reveals His Motto For Captaining Gujarat Titans