Last two IPL seasons finalist team Gujarat Titans (GT) coach, Ashish Nehra, put forward his feeling for the very first time regarding Hardik Pandya’s exit from the team.
Gujarat was the newly formed franchise who made his debut in the 2022 season and became the champion in their inaugural season. Hardik took the leadership charge and took his team to victory. In the 2023 season also he took his team to the final but unfortunately lost against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final by 5 wickets.
After leading Titans to two back to back finals, Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians (MI) where he later became the captain of the team by replacing Rohit Sharma. To this many players supported the decision while some opposed the decision.
But now Titans bowling coach, Nehra said that he could have stopped Pandya to remain in GT, but he never did.
“I never tried to convince Hardik Pandya to stay back. I could have stopped him had he been going to some other team. Hardik played for that team (MI) for five or six years. Yes, GT will miss Hardik Pandya. Best wishes from our side.”
Gujarat will play their first match against Mumbai in Ahmedabad on March 24. According to the partial schedule released by BCCI for the 2024 IPL, Titans will play 5 matches.