 "File image of Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya. PTI")
Former India pacer S Sreesanth felt the the Gujarat Titans pacers will be bowling with a lot more freedom in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) with no Hardik Pandya to tell them what to do.
Seam-bowling all-rounder Pandya, who had captained the Titans to back-to-back IPL finals including the title on debut in 2022, has returned to the Mumbai Indians where he has replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain.
The Titans have since named Shubman Gill as their captain following Pandya’s departure, with the opening batter now part of the think tank comprising head coach Ashish Nehra and mentor Gary Kirsten.
“There is no Hardik in Gujarat to tell the bowlers what to bowl,” Sreesanth said, referring to last year’s final and Pandya’s discussion with Mohit Sharma before the final delivery.
“Sometimes you need to give the bowler that freedom to bowl. This time the captain is Gill, and I’m sure Ashish bhai (Ashish Nehra) will say let them bowl. Bowlers will also take responsibility with a young captain and sometimes, this is the advantage of having a young captain,” Sreesanth said on FanCode’s The Super Over.
Gill and Pandya locked horns for the first time in three seasons on Sunday, with the former emerging triumphant on captaincy debut as GT fought back from a near-hopeless position to pull off a thrilling victory over MI at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
Impact Shorts
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A disciplined effort from the Gujarat attack, missing a key member in Mohammed Shami due to injury, led to the Mumbai batting unit imploding from a position from where they could have strolled to victory.
While spinners Sai Kishore (1/24) and Rashid Khan (0/23) bowled economical spells and pacer Mohit Sharma collected two crucial wickets, it was senior pacer Umesh Yadav who ultimately sealed the deal for the Titans with a superb final over, in which he collected back-to-back wickets after getting hit for a six and a four by Hardik Pandya before conceding a single off each of the last two deliveries to bowl his team to a six-run win.
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GT face defending champions Chennai Super Kings in their next outing on Tuesday in what will be a rematch of last year’s final. Like GT and MI, CSK too have had a change of captain this year with wicketkeeper-batter Ruturaj Gaikwad taking over following MS Dhoni’s decision to step down from captaincy on the eve of the season.