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

Gujarat Titans (GT) batting coach and mentor Gary Kirsten applauded Hardik Pandya’s captaincy which prompted the franchise’s dream season. The all-rounder drove the new franchise to the Indian Premier League (IPL) title following a seven-wicket prevail upon the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the last on May 29 (Sunday). 

The 28-year-old arose as an unexpected captaincy choice preceding the mega auction. A few sounded their questions over the move, with worries principally over Hardik Pandya’s off-field disposition. Be that as it may, the all-rounder answered by turning into the fourth Indian player to lead an IPL establishment to the title. 

Hardik Pandya Never Chased The Spotlight: Gary Kirsten

Stating Hardik Pandya was a pleasure to work close by throughout the two-month-long competition.

Kirsten said on Cricbuzz: “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 captaincy.

“He remained Hardik Pandya the person – easy to talk to, always asking questions about how he can improve, always humble about his own performance, always a calm energy on the field, and always a little quirky off the field.” 

Pandya just experienced four defeats in the competition on his way to the title. His initiative was a significant purpose for GT’s prosperity. Following his new endeavors, he procured a comeback to the national team for the first time this year. 

The 28-year-old acquainted an immense change with his own game too by advancing himself up the batting order. Normally doing the job of a finisher in the lower middle order for Mumbai Indians and Team India before, Pandya decided to play at No.4 for GT. 

Gary Kirsten Lauds Hardik Pandya For His Role As A Middle-order Batter

Lauding Pandya for the manner in which he worked in the middle order, Kirsten said: 

“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.

“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.” 

The move delivered profits as he wound up as the main run-scorer for the franchise with 487 runs. He was additionally the second-highest run-scorer among Indians in the competition, just behind KL Rahul on the rundown.   

We Used David Miller Really Well: Gary Kirsten

Playing one of the most memorable seasons according to the point of view of a middle-order player, David Miller arose as an unexpected component for a few. The hard-hitting Proteas player was a long way from a hot target in the auction because of his unfortunate returns in the past seasons.   

Asserting that the franchise knew what was required to have the best out of Miller, Kirsten said:  “We always knew that if you used David Miller the right way you could get the most out of him.” 

Kirsten concluded: We used him really well through the tournament; gave him a little bit of extra batting time rather than just a hitter at the end.” 

The 32-year-old’s self-control was critical, with GT frequently bringing a few of their games down to the last possible second. The 2022 IPL denoted Miller’s most productive season. He scored 481 runs at an average of 68.71 alongside an excellent strike rate of 142.73. 

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