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‘Difficult to replace Pandya’: Ashish Nehra drops crisp statement on Shubman Gill's captaincy appointment
Ashish Nehra opened up about the changing of guards at Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2024. Shubman Gill became the new captain after Hardik Pandya's exit.
The biggest announcement from the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise arrived even before the mini-auction for the upcoming season of domestic cricket's biggest extravaganza - the Indian Premier League (IPL). The record-time winners completed a blockbuster trade for Hardik Pandya with Gujarat Titans (GT) in an all-cash deal after the end of the retention deadline. Days after sanctioning Hardik's homecoming for IPL 2024, the Mumbai Paltan announced the changing of guards as the white-ball maverick replaced Rohit Sharma to become the new leader of the franchise.
While MI revealed Pandya as the successor of Rohit at Mumbai, 2022 winners Gujarat Titans promoted opener Shubman Gill to the top post. The former world No.1 batter became the captain of Gujarat Titans after Mumbai confirmed the signing of Hardik for IPL 2024. Talking about the leadership change at Gujarat Titans, head coach Ashish Nehra admitted that it will be difficult for his franchise to replace Pandya, who guided GT to IPL glory in their debut season.
'Tough to replace Hardik Pandya'
"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 shared his views in a virtual press conference after the IPL 2023 mini-auction in Dubai. India's all-format opener Gill was the leading run-getter for the Titans last season.
Why did GT pick Gill as Hardik's successor?
Released by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018, Gill was signed by GT ahead of the 2022 auction. Newcomers GT were allowed to sign three marquee players in the lead-up to the 2022 auction at the time. In his debut season, Gill scored 483 runs in 16 matches for Gujarat Titans. The Indian opener smashed 890 runs in 17 innings to win the Orange Cap last season.
Gujarat Titans believe in Gill
"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.
