Hardik Pandya has had a dream run in 2022. The 29-year-old has thrived in international cricket and emerged as a genuine all-rounder for Team India. Moreover, he burnished his leadership credentials when he guided Gujarat Titans to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title in May. Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra has now praised Pandya’s leadership skills. While speaking on JioCinema on the eve of the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi, Nehra expressed his admiration for Hardik’s leadership style. “Hardik Pandya, at times, people see him as a new captain, struggling from injuries. But when it comes to his captaincy, the kind of ability he has with the bat, and the ball, and the kind of persona he has, he is a very positive person. The kind of aura he has shown, if you ask me as a coach, you can look at a player and tell what he is thinking, Hardik Pandya is a very positive guy. I never felt he is a new captain and he doesn’t know what to do. He was a very important part of Mumbai Indians, who have won many titles. He was there. There was no shortage of IPL experience,” Nehra was quoted as saying on JioCinema.

The former India cricketer also added that Hardik had the backing of the entire support staff and that his team wouldn’t take anything for granted as defending champions.

Nehra said, “Everybody has to start somewhere and nobody is a born captain. So you try to mould them. As support staff, we were trying to help Hardik as much as possible. Even now, me as a coach, or Hardik as captain, we have always tried to learn. We look forward to trying out new things. The moment you think you know everything, the first year we won, that would be the start of the end. Hardik Pandya, apart from the results, has been phenomenal.”

Ashish Nehra will play a huge role at the upcoming IPL mini-auction. The highly-anticipated event will be held on December 23 in Kochi. Gujarat Titans has retained the core of their title-winning team. Skipper Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, David Miller, Matthew Wade, Mohammad Shami and Rashid Khan will form the cornerstone of Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023. The franchise has a decent purse of Rs 19.25 crore for the auction. It remains to be seen how they will use their considerable purse at the auction.

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