IPL 2024: Gujarat Titans Head Coach Ashish Nehra Breaks Silence On Hardik Pandya Leaving Franchise, Lists Reason Why Shubman Gill Was Named Captain

Hardik Pandya leaving Gujarat Titans (GT) after leading the team into the final for back-to-back season was the biggest shocking news ahead of the IPL 2024 Auction. This was the first time that an IPL winning captain was traded out by a franchise as Mumbai Indians (MI) bought him from GT. Soon after the trading was done, Hardik was named as the captain of the MI side as he replaced Rohit Sharma, who made MI what it is today.

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For the first time since Hardik's departure, GT coach Ashish Nehra has reacted to his exit, saying that replacing Hardik is very difficult but they have faith in the leadership skills of Shubman Gill, who is their new captain.

"To replace a player like Hardik Pandya is difficult considering his talent and experience. We have seen how he (Gill) has shaped up in the past three-four years. He is 24-25 years of age but he has a good head on his shoulders," Nehra said in a virtual post-auction press meet on Tuesday night.

Nehra also said that they are going to back Gill to the hilt as captain and results will not be the only scale on which he will be rated upon as leader.

"We believe in him. That is why we made him captain. I am not someone who will always go by results. Yes, results are important but when you come to captaincy you have to look at other things also. We are confident that Gill is the right person (for captaincy)," Nehra added.

Nehra also spoke on the extra-ordinary prices being shelled out to buy some players, particularly Mitchell Starc and Australian captain Pat Cummins. Starc fetched Rs 24.75 crore at the auction as he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) while Cummins was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for a whopping Rs 20.50 crore. GT was one of the teams who kept bidding for Starc. Nehra was asked if Starc was overpriced, to which he said, "There is nothing like being overpriced in the IPL. Everybody knows what Starc can do. He is a proven player. We needed a fast bowler and every team had different strategies. We have to be satisfied with what we have. For a bowler like Starc, I don't think that is a surprise."