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Cricket PlayersHardik Pandya's 'everyone in the country…' remark on MS Dhoni at GT vs CSK toss sends crowd into frenzy
After winning the toss and opting to bowl against CSK, GT captain Hardik Pandya said Dhoni has been an inspiration and motivation for almost everyone in India.
Hardik Pandya has been quite open about his admiration for MS Dhoni. He has time and again mentioned the influence Dhoni has had on him as a player and now as a captain. During the toss of the IPL 2023 opener, The Gujarat Titans captain on Friday once again announced to the world what Dhoni means to him. After winning the toss and opting to bowl against Chennai Super Kings, GT captain Hardik Pandya said Dhoni has been an inspiration and motivation for almost everyone in India.
"I think almost everyone in the country has got motivation from him. Been a fan and admirer of him. Nothing better than starting the season with Dhoni," Hardik told Ravi Shastri on being asked about his feelings about playing the tournament opener against Dhoni.
There were reports that Dhoni might miss the GT match due to a knee niggle but the legendary cricketer sent the capacity crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in frenzy by returning to the cricket field for the first time since last year's IPL. With the 16th edition of the IPL returning to its original home-and-away format after a gap of three years, Dhoni will get an opportunity to play in front of his crowd in Chennai in what is expected to be his season.
GT vs CSK Live Score, IPL 2023
"I don't think it [the pitch] will change. Last night it rained and I don't know if there will be dew. The preparation has been good and we assembled early [in Chennai]. Overall, it seems as if we've done okay," Dhoni said.
IPL 2023 has introduced the Impact Player rule for the first time, which experts believe will add a new dimension to T20 cricket, effectively allowing the teams to use 12 players instead of 11.
Dhoni said the Impact Player rule may reduce the role of an all-rounder a bit. "It's a luxury to have (Impact Player). It becomes slightly easier to make the decision because you can use it at any time. The influence of all-rounders has become slightly less because of the rule."
Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, said he has left the hard job on head coach Ashish Nehra.
"It's always good to play here. New start, new season, quite exciting. Want boys to enjoy it. Result will take care of itself. It's different - I've left it in the coach. Ashu pa works all night on what needs to be done. I don't know (combination for today)," said the captain of the defending champions.
CSK XI: 1 Devon Conway, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ambati Rayudu, 8 MS Dhoni (capt&wk), 9 Mitch Santner, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Subs (Possible Impact Player): Tushar Deshpande, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Ajinkya Rahane, Nishant Sindhu
Gujarat Titans XI: 1 Shubhman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 Josh Little, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Yash Dayal
Subs (Possible Impact Player): B Sai Sudharsan, Jayant Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Abhinav Manohar, KS Bharat
