IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans pacer Shivam Mavi thinks Hardik Pandya is a 'cool captain' | Know Why

Indian Premier League (IPL) is just about a week away and defending champion Gujarat Titans will kick-start the season against Chennai Super Kings on March 31. The defending champs have added a few faces in the squad from the last year's auction and one of them is upcoming pacer Shivam Mavi.

The former KKR bowler, during a recent chat with the news agency ANI, Shivam Mavi, however, full of praise for Titans skipper Hardik Pandya and called him a 'cool captain' - a term usually associated with former India skipper MS Dhoni.

"I am very excited to play for Gujarat Titans. Hardik is a very cool captain. He backs up youngsters who are new to the team. The environment is very friendly. So when a youngster steps in such an environment, it is a good thing for him and he is able to perform better," said the bowler.

Notably, Mavi is also made his India debut in limited-overs cricket recently under Hardik Pandya's captaincy and said that Pandya was very supportive during that time as well.

"When I played under him for India for the first time...he was very supportive... support is a very important factor and if the captain supports you it feels very good. It is in the hands of the captain and management to create a good atmosphere. You can see that a team performs well if the atmosphere is good," said Mavi.

Titans' head coach Ashish Nehra, who is also a pacer, got the words of appraisal from the young pacer. Mavi was full of praise for Nehra's approach of giving freedom to players.

"He gives us freedom, he lets us use our time properly on the ground and if you want rest he will allow it. He is like a friend, if you want something you can go and ask him. Sometimes players don't feel like practising on the ground. In such situations, he doesn't burden us...he keeps the environment light," added Mavi.

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