IPL 2022: I will take Hardik Pandya as a pure batter – Ashish Nehra

Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra has stated that he will take Hardik Pandya purely as a batter.

Nehra revealed that he is looking at Hardik Pandya more as a captain and batter for Gujarat Titans. Pandya had last played for the national team in the 2021 T20 World Cup and he will be making his comeback in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

Pandya has had fitness issues in the recent past, which has kept him away from making any contribution with the ball. However, the all-rounder passed the team’s Yo-Yo Test with flying colors and also revealed he would be bowling for Gujarat Titans in the ongoing season. In fact, Pandya had earlier said that there will be a surprise as far as his bowling is concerned.

There is no doubt that Pandya will have a point to prove as he will play a key role for Gujarat Titans. The all-rounder was roped in by the new franchsie for a whopping amount of INR 15 crores before the IPL mega auction.

“When I saw him in Baroda, he was good, bowling around 80%. That was a few weeks back and he was feeling really comfortable. Since then he went to the NCA and has been practising non-stop. He has used this word, ‘surprise’, once or twice, so I jokingly asked him, ‘What is this surprise?’

“From day one I have been saying, in any T20 squad, I will take Hardik Pandya as a pure batter. As far as our franchise is concerned, I am looking at him more as a captain and batsman. And maybe that is why he is saying his bowling is a ‘surprise’,” Nehra told ESPN Cricinfo.

On the other hand, Gujarat Titans were able to rope in Mohammed Shami for INR 6.25 crores. Shami has been one of India’s best bowlers in the last few years but he still needs to prove his mettle as a T20 bowler. Shami had scalped 19 wickets in 14 matches for Punjab Kings in the previous season of the IPL.

“I have played with him in my last few years. In the last three or four years the kind of experience and the kind of maturity he has shown… the two fast bowlers in India we always discuss are Shami and Bumrah. And it is not one or two series.

“The kind of fitness he has shown, the kind of long spells he has shown, it is really exciting to see. The price we got him for was a steal. For this team, he is a senior pro,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has a strike rate of 123 in the IPL, which isn’t ideal, especially as an opener. However, Nehra feels Gill will get better with more experience.

“When you discuss strike rate in T20, it all depends on the conditions and the match situation. Sometimes that strike rate is good for certain grounds, for a certain player of a certain team. Here you are talking about Gill, who is 22. He is only going to get better. He had a great three-four years with KKR.

“But from our side it is not only about the numbers – that your strike rate has to be this much. I mean, there can be a turning wicket and it could be only a 130-run game and he scores a 50-ball fifty… you have to consider such things and then analyze.”

Gujarat Titans will begin their IPL campaign against Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 28th March.