IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya opens up about his leadership role after a starring performance against RR

On Thursday, Hardik Pandya slammed an excellent 87* off 52 balls defeating RR by 37 runs. It was a second consecutive 50+ score for him after his comeback.

Another interesting thing is that he was batting at no.4 higher up the order who has been a late order batsman in most of his career.

Talking about batting at no.4 he said “It gives me a lot of time. I can calculate and take risk. The last game it did not come off but today I made sure I did. I have been in this situation where I have taken the role of scoring 12-ball 30. It is difficult but now at four I can control the game”.

The cricketer who was struggling with back injuries in the recent past made his fans a lot to worry, when he walked back into the dugout the middle of third over. Though he was doing well and justifying his position after his comeback.

“It was just cramps, nothing else,” that is how Hardik Pandya cleared the air after taking himself off the attack in the 18th over following a match-winning knock against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL on Thursday.
In the post-match presentation also he allayed fear over his fitness saying “Always good to win. A lot of hard work for me tonight. It was just cramps, nothing serious. I am not used to batting this long,”

Under his leadership he has led the team to climb the top of IPL 2022 points table after winning 4 matches out of 5.

Embracing his leadership role he added “Captaincy is fun and it allows me to take responsibility and be the flag-bearer. The group carries one another. My motto was I wanted everyone to be happy. That is working well for the team,”