This story is from February 02, 2022
Pandya
is new to the job too. But ahead of the mega IPL auction on February 12-13, Pandya showed a very pragmatic approach to building the new franchise team. During a media interaction on Tuesday, Pandya said, “The squad composition is not entirely in our hands. It will depend on how the auction goes. We may not get what we exactly want. The funny thing about the auction is we want A, but sometimes we get B, which is okay and we are aware of it. Our plan is to form a good, balanced side.” The 28-year-old also appeared very candid when asked about giving preference to talented cricketers from Gujarat in the squad. He said, “There are no specific plans to buy players from Gujarat. We will have discussions regarding who to buy, and we will zero in on the best players for us.” The captain was backed by Vikram Solanki, the team director of the new franchise. About the franchise’s vision, Solanki, who was also part of the interaction, said, “We are very much starting from the scratch. We are looking for an opportunity to build something that is sustainable for a long time and has the support of the fans and following around Ahmedabad and across Gujarat.”So far, the franchise has named Pandya, Afghanistan star Rashid Khan and India opener Shubman Gill as their three star players before the mega auction. “We are taking a medium to long-term view of that. We have a lot of work to do, and we are, hopefully, some way towards getting the work done in having the three players join us. Ultimately we would like all of Ahmedabad and Gujarat fans to be proud of their IPL team,” the former England batter said.Pandya, whose fitness issues have been a topic of debate among cricket experts, said he is slowly getting back to full fitness. “I miss playing for India. But, everything is coming around very nicely. I have taken some time off from cricket. I am working on my fitness. I am training and the focus is to get healthy,” said the Baroda all-rounder. “I am very excited with this opportunity. I can’t ask for a better thing — a new team in my home state. I am looking forward to this challenge. We can create a new legacy and culture. I’ve been fortunate and grateful to be part of Mumbai Indians. Now, it will be fun, a chance to create something new. There are no baggages as the first day of the Indian Premier League would be a fresh beginning,” said Pandya, in a select interaction with media professionalsThe all-rounder, who is not a part of the ODI and T20I teams to play West Indies, said being a captain is a nice challenge. “I will learn many things. I will make mistakes, but it would be a huge learning curve for me. I can’t get a better opportunity to grow as a person and a cricketer,” he added. Pandya, who has appeared in 63 ODIs and 54 T20Is, said that as captain the target would be to win the IPL but achieving it would be very difficult. “We will require to put in a lot of hard work. We are ready for putting in the hard yards and we will certainly do it.” Asked about going for Pandya as captain, Solanki said, “Hardik’s abilities on the field are second to none. He is one of the most exciting cricketers going around in the world. As far as captaincy and leadership is concerned, he has the experience of winning, which is a very important quality, a good prerequisite. He has been very successful with Mumbai. He played a leadership role in that team. I found it fascinating recently to hear him saying that leadership isn’t about just captaining.”
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