Leadership came naturally to Hardik Pandya: Gujarat Titans mentor Gary Kirsten

Kirsten mentored the Gujarat Titans to fashion themselves into a winning outfit in their very first season. Working alongside him, was allrounder and captain Hardik Pandya. The latter has left a telling impact on Kirsten after this trophy-winning season. "I've been impressed with Hardik Pandya. Not having known him well earlier, I've got a view on him now that he's this cricketer who just plays instinctively and takes the game on. He engages in a lot of cricket conversations and wants to learn, wants to get better and improve and understand his players," Kirsten told TOI as Pandya-led Titans ticked all the boxes to emerge 2022 IPL champions.

Read AlsoIPL 2022: Captain Hardik Pandya guides Gujarat Titans to title triumph in maiden season

In the end, with their captain Hardik Pandya leading the charge with both the bat and ball, nothing was going to stop Gujarat Titans from holding the IPL trophy this year. While Gill played the anchor’s role in the chase to perfection, the Titans owed their win in the summit clash to Pandya, who

"He's a fantastic cricketer but what stands him apart is how keen he is to learn. He is one of those players. And we've seen how leadership has come so naturally to him," Kirsten added. Pandya turned out to be the second-highest scorer for the Titans with 487 runs from 15 innings and their third-highest wicket-taker by grabbing eight wickets. "He is an impact-player who can win games for you and to have someone that could do it with bat and ball, especially in a format as short and unpredictable as this one, is special," Kirsten said. In his first season as captain, having recovered from a back injury and putting behind the ghosts of a very forgettable outing at the recent T20 World Cup, Pandya