In a recent press event, Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra expressed excitement about Shubman Gill’s leadership debut as the team’s new captain.
Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra acknowledged that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s absence from their team this year might be a significant loss, however, he wants the players to ‘move on’ and focus on the future. Subsequently, he also expressed his eagerness to see young opener Shubman Gill step up as the new captain. In a recent media event, Nehra showed his optimistic view about Gill as the future captain of GT.
“As a new captain, I want to see how he (Gill) operates and not just me, the whole of India would like to see because he is that kind of a player. He is looking to play and do well in all three formats, 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 grow more as a captain going forward and get better and better, Nehra said.
While commending Gill’s ability, Nehra also spoke about Hardik Pandya’s absence and how the team should face it.
“In any sport, you have to move on. You cannot buy experience and to replace someone like Hardik Pandya or (an injured) Mohammed Shami isn’t going to be easy. But that’s a learning curve and that’s how the team moves forward,” he added.
The Pandya-Nehra partnership was instrumental in the Titans’ early success. When asked if he tried to convince Pandya to stay, Nehra said, “I never tried to convince Pandya to stay back. As you play more, you gain experience. I could have stopped him had he gone to any other franchise. He (Pandya) played here for two years but he has gone to a team (MI), where he has played previously for 5-6 years.”
Later, Nehra once again strengthened his support for Gill by citing examples of debutant captains in the IPL.
“Before Hardik joined GT, he had no prior experience of captaining any side. There are 10 IPL teams and you will see more and more new captains. Let’s see which guy capitalises moving ahead.” Nehra concluded.
With skipper Gill leading the camp, the Gujarat Titans will play their first match of the tournament on March 24th, against the Mumbai Indians.
Last Updated on March 17, 2024
