IPL 2023: GT skipper Hardik Pandya reveals he was interested in joining LSG
Hardik led GT to title as skipper in their first season only. (Source: @gujarat_titans
Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya in a recent chat, revealed that he was interested in joining Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) instead of GT when both the new franchises were being inducted in the IPL in 2022.
Speaking to Gaurav Kapoor in Titans' podcast, Hardik also said that it GT coach Ashish Nehra who talked to him into joining GT and offered him the captaincy.
“I did get a call from the other franchise (Lucknow Super Giants) as well, which was a new franchise in IPL. Someone who I knew (KL Rahul) was leading the team. For me, it was very important, considering the stage at which I was, where I really wanted to play with a person who has known me,” Hardik said in the podcast.
“I always found that people who know me have a different perspective than people who have never come across or come close to me. When I got the opportunity to work with someone I know, I was very keen to go to that side,” he added.
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“But then Ashu pa called me. At that time, the team also didn't have the permission to be part of the IPL. It was very haywire, things weren't even settled. He said, 'I'm going to be the coach. It isn't fixed yet, but I will be coach'. I was like, 'Ashu pa, if you weren't there, I wouldn't have even considered this because you're saying this… I've always felt you are one person who has understood what I am',” Hardik told Kapoor.
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"I'm simple to work with, the one who knows me, know what I am. I think he (Nehra) comes in those categories who has found the right side of me. I was completely off the grid because I took a sabbatical, and I was away from the sport. I had decided not to be available for anything.
“I told him, 'Ashu pa, it's very important for me to know what you're looking at'. We had a good chat. I was like, ‘okay let me think about it’. Moments after disconnecting the call, he dropped me a message saying 'if you're ready, I would like you to take the captaincy'. That was a surprise for me. I didn't expect that. I've never been a person who has ever run behind anything. If someone comes, it comes. When I got to know, I was in a different zone,” concluded GT skipper.
Notably, Hardik eventually joined GT as skipper and led them to the IPL title in their first season only, beating Rajasthan Royals by seven wicket in the final.
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