Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki has provided an update on Hardik Pandya’s fitness ahead of IPL 2022. Hardik, who will lead new franchise Gujarat Titans in the upcoming season, has been out of competitive cricket since the 2021 T20 World Cup. The flamboyant faced scrutiny for his bowling fitness in the 2021 T20 WC and is currently regaining that to get back into the Indian cricket team.
Solanki said that Hardik is working hard on his fitness and the franchise has to be patient with his demands.
“Hardik is working extremely hard in all aspects of his game, from the rehabilitation and recovery point of view. He is conscious that he has to get up to speed with batting, bowling and fielding… He is on his path to recovery and playing a full part but we have to be patient with the demands,” Solanki told The Telegraph.
Hardik was signed by the Ahmedabad franchise ahead of the auction for a whopping INR 15 crore after he was released by Mumbai Indians.
Solanki heaped praise on Hardik and said he is the complete package when it comes to batting, bowling and fielding.
“Remember, he is coming back from an injury. Hardik as a batsman is an exceptional addition to any team. But if we take batting, bowling, and fielding together, then he’s a complete package. But having said all that, we have to be conscious of his long-term plans. We are very happy with the way he is progressing,” he said.
It will be the first time, when Hardik will don the role of captain in the Indian Premier League and Solanki is confident about his captaincy skills looking at his track record of winning titles as a player.
“We see in Hardik the qualities that can turn him into a successful and very fine captain. We have spoken a couple of times about his track record as far as winning IPL titles is concerned,” he said.
The Gujarat Titans director of cricket further feels that Hardik’s learning about captaincy from MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will work in the team’s favour.
“He has been part of our leadership group and has taken a lot of learnings from other captains like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni. He will use all that learning in developing himself as a captain and will be well backed by the support staff,” he said.
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