Rajkot, Jan 8 (PTI): There has been no looking back for Hardik Pandya since he led Gujarat Titans to an IPL triumph in their maiden appearance last year, and the new Indian T20I skipper credits his franchise coach Ashish Nehra for making “a big difference” to his captaincy.
Coming back from a long injury layoff, the premier all-rounder was made the Gujarat skipper in a bold move by the first-timers.
But Pandya, who had led only once at senior level in a tour game against Australia, proved his detractors wrong and led by example.
“What has been very important from Gujarat point of view is the kind of coach I worked with. Ashish Nehra made a big difference in my life, because of our mindsets. We might be two different personalities, but we have very similar cricketing thoughts,” Pandya said after leading India to a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka here on Saturday.
“Because I was with him, it added value to my captaincy. It helped me to get exactly what I know. It was just about getting that assurance, once I got that… the awareness of this game I always knew. It was all about knowing and backing what I knew already. It has definitely helped me,” he added.
Before the home series against Sri Lanka, the Indian selectors overhauled the side after the Rohit Sharma-led team failed to win the T20I World Cup in Australia, losing to eventual champions England in the semifinal.
Prior to this series, Pandya had led India’s T20I side whenever Rohit was unavailable.
“I’ve never led in junior cricket as well. When I was under-16 I led Baroda. After that everyone thought that I should focus on my game. Since then, I’ve not led (a side),” Pandya added.
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Meanwhile, speaking about the match experience after leading the team to a series win in Rajkot, the new T20I skipper said, “It’s actually not that difficult. My life becomes very easy, when the experienced players are there, I don’t say much to them because they are here because they have done a lot of good things in their lives.”
“Managing is not difficult, but yes it’s a young group. They will make mistakes, they will learn from it, something that we have emphasised that once you make a mistake you make sure that you learn from it. Acceptance is very important in this sport. If you don’t expect it, things go very far.
“But when a young team is there, the only thing I can help them is about giving them confidence, how to make sure they are at a level, when they are playing here, they feel that they belong here.
“That is very important in international cricket. In this group, it’s a very good journey. Youngsters are willing to learn and it makes my journey very easy.”
All praise for Suryakumar’s explosive century, Hardik said: “Today, it felt like Sri Lanka against Surya. It makes my life very easy. I always mention that someone like Surya is so important for us in white-ball cricket.
“The way he plays some shots, the way he changes the game, it actually breaks the morale of the bowler and which kind of helps the other batter as well.”
Asked if he had any special word for Surya with the way he batted, Pandya said: “You don’t tell him anything. Surya, the kind of form he’s playing and the clarity he has you don’t really need to speak to him.
Backing his young group, the new India skipper said they would make mistakes but it’s about accepting and learning from them.
“He is always very clear about his plans and that’s the reason he’s successful in this format. He doesn’t doubt his ability. Wherever he’s in double minds, he always comes and have a chat. I don’t think anyone has to say anything to him.”
