IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya's Captaincy Was Beautiful To Watch And A Real Lesson To Many Other Captains – Gary Kirsten

Updated - 05 Jun 2022, 03:01 PM

Hardik Pandya and Gary Kirsten. Image: Gujarat Titans/Twitter

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Gujarat Titans (GT) batting coach and mentor Gary Kirsten applauded Hardik Pandya for his “beautiful to watch” captaincy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and said that the Gujarat Titans captain’s leadership is a “real lesson” to many other skippers.

Questions were raised when Hardik Pandya, who before Gujarat Titans (GT) had not led any IPL team, was appointed as the skipper of the new franchise in the marquee tournament.

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However, Hardik proved doubters wrong by leading GT to the Indian Premier League 2022 triumph in their inaugural season. Also, GT dominated the league stage and finished as the table-toppers.

Hardik scored 487 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 131.26 and was GT’s highest run-getter. He played a pivotal role in the team’s victory in the final as he picked 3 huge wickets and scored 34 crucial runs. Also, he was adjudged player of the match in the final.

Hardik Pandya played a massive role as a captain – Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten-Ashish Nehra — Photo Credit: (IPL)

Meanwhile, Kirsten praised Hardik and said that the all-rounder played a massive role in the team’s success in the tournament.

He also hailed Hardik for performing very well in the middle-order and playing as per the demand of the situation, unlike previous seasons where he was only the power-hitter in the team.

“Hardik Pandya played a massive role as a captain and a very different batting role to what he has done in previous IPLs; he thrived in that space, he loved it,” Kirsten told Cricbuzz.

“He took on the responsibility of playing more of a middle-order, play-the-situation kind of role rather than just being a hitter at the back, and he did that fantastically.

“His captaincy was beautiful to watch and a real lesson to many other captains. He never chased the spotlight and the profile that comes with the captaincy. He remained Hardik Pandya the person – easy to talk to, always asking questions about how he can improve, always humble about his performance, always a calm energy on the field and always a little quirky off the field,” said Kirsten.