IPL 2022 - "I Want To Emulate...": Hardik Pandya Ahead of IPL Captaincy Debut

Hardik Pandya has played for Mumbai Indians in his entire Indian Premier League (IPL) career but this season, the all-rounder has a new challenge as he would be playing for Gujarat Titans and he will also be leading the new IPL franchise. Gujarat Titans will kickstart their campaign on Monday evening against the Lucknow Super Giants and ahead of the match, Hardik named the players he wants to emulate while trying to take his franchise to ultimate glory.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking, captain Hardik Pandya. I am not going to tell you where I came from, you probably know that. I will tell you where I am taking you off to, it is towards that peak called sporting success. That sweet lofty spot where grit lives with grind, labour leads to luck. It is a range that my brother (MS Dhoni) has scaled and I have made no attempts to hide that I want to emulate him," said Hardik in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of Gujarat Titans.

"It is a place that my hero (Sachin Tendulkar) has owned and told me stories how he got there. It is a journey which will sometimes pit me against my sibling, my soulmate and many of my closest friends. And like every flight, this journey might also have turbulence," he stated further.

Goosebumps on our debut day, courtesy captain @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/2qdwn5FKrc

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) March 28, 2022

In the video Hardik also addressed the controversy surrounding his appearance on 'Koffee With Karan', saying, "If I have a survived a national storm, a ban and grueling back injury and more, I know what it takes. Confidence, flamboyance, whatever you term it, I just know when I walk in with bat in my hand, my opponents get tiny little chills in their spine knowing that I can pull off a heist from anywhere."
"And here's the best part, I am shaping a whole team to be like that. Will we falter? Of course, but we will go back and toil harder," he added.

Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, Gujarat Titans picked Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill. Hardik was then appointed as the captain of the franchise.

IPL 2022 began on Saturday, March 26 and in the tournament opener, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) got the better of Chennai Super Kings.

Gujarat Titans Squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudarshan.

Topics mentioned in this article

Gujarat Titans IPL 2022 Hardik Pandya MS Dhoni Sachin Tendulkar Cricket