Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper, Hardik Pandya has revealed that he got a call from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before joining GT and was close to joining them due to his friendship with KL Rahul. Hardik has now revealed that things would have been different had Ashish Nehra not approached him to become GT’s captain ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. As A result GT won the tournament in their inaugural edition under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya.
During a chat with Gaurav Kapoor on Gujarat Titans’ podcast, Hardik Pandya said, “I did get a call from the other franchise (Lucknow Super Giants) as well, which was a new franchise in IPL. Someone who I knew (KL Rahul) was leading the team. For me, it was very important, considering the stage at which I was, where I really wanted to play with a person who has known me.”
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Hardik Pandya returned to cricket after a gap of six months, finishing as the side’s highest run-getter and guiding the side to a resounding victory in its inaugural campaign; he eventually returned to India’s limited-overs squads and captained the side in all T20Is this year.
The all-rounder also discussed the phone call from Ashish Nehra, who later became Titans’ head coach, that changed his mind. Nehra attempted to persuade Hardik to join the team, stating that the all-rounder would lead the team.
Revealing the same, Hardik Pandya said, “But then Ashu pa called me. At that time, the team also didn’t have permission to be part of the IPL. It was very haywire, things weren’t even settled. I was like, ‘Ashu pa, if you weren’t there, I wouldn’t have even considered this because you’re saying this and I’ve always felt you are one person who has understood what I am. I think he (Nehra) comes in those categories who has found the right side of me.”
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He further added, “I’m simple to work with, someone who knows me, know what I am. I was completely off the grid because I took a sabbatical, and was away from the sport. I told him, ‘Ashu pa, it’s very important for me to know what you’re looking at’. We had a good chat. Moments after disconnecting the call, he dropped me a message saying ‘if you’re ready, I would like you to take the captaincy’. That was a surprise for me. When I got to know, I was in a different zone.”
