JOIN USRisky assets paid rich dividends for Gujarat Titans
When Gujarat Titans announced Hardik Pandya as their first draft pick and subsequently named him the skipper for their debut IPL season, many felt they were taking a big risk on an asset whose high value was seemingly beginning to depreciate following several injury breakdowns.
In fact, they gambled on a handful of such tricky purchases like David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha or even Mohammed Shami. Many critics even dubbed their team as 'weak' and questioned the auction strategy. They lauded the other newcomer Lucknow Super Giants for piecing together a well-balanced unit. But Titans knew what they were doing, and placing their faith on proven but sinking commodities saw them reap rich dividends.
Their biggest bet — Pandya — turned out to be an absolute masterstroke. At the start of the year, Pandya’s career seemed to be at crossroads. He was returning from another career-threatening injury that prevented him from bowling at full tilt. His batting also had taken a nosedive because of the frequent breakdowns. Mumbai Indians, a franchise with whom he rose to stardom, had to release him.
Venkatesh Iyer then appeared to take his place in the Indian team following his blistering performances with Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021 that concluded in October. There were off-field controversies with regards to purchase of expensive watches. Pandya was enduring tough times. No stranger to such situations, Pandya needed a team to show some faith and love. Titans did and Pandya has unleashed the beast in him, enjoying one of his best seasons since making his debut in 2015.
He’s been their best batter, amassing 481 runs with four half-centuries, bowled brilliantly in the middle phases, not justing stifling the opposition with his economical bowling (7.27) but picking up eight wickets. Apart from his individual brilliances what stood out was his captaincy. A self-confessed disciple of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he showed similar street smart spur-of-the-moment decision making acumen and ensured the team maintained a wonderful camaraderie with his easy-going captaincy.
Pandya’s captaincy and the management’s self-belief played an integral role in Miller’s resurgence that saw the South African play several game-changing innings. Miller appeared a liability that no-one was interested in following six consecutive seasons of failure but Gujarat gave him a platform to stage a resurrection and the southpaw has responded exceptionally.
The same can be said about Wriddiman Saha who was told after the South Africa Test series that his India career was done. Saha openly expressed his displeasure and has harnessed that anger with a fine outing for Gujarat. With 317 runs and three fifties, he enjoyed his second best IPL and was instrumental in giving strong starts for his team.
No praise can he high enough for the continued excellence of Rashid Khan. The Afghan is one of the best leg-spinners in the world, someone who even the best of batters fear to take a risk against. He started slowly but once he gained rhythm, he was the same irresistible force, tying down batters with his relentless accuracy and bagging wickets with sorcery.
Titans also adopted a new strategy in flooding their middle-order with finishers. From No. 4-7, all were finishers but they exhibited wonderful maturity and played as per the situation instead of going slam-bang from ball one. With four batters capable of turning on the heat any moment, no target seemed insurmountable for the Titans.
“This is the right example for any team in the world,” said a delighted Pandya after the final triumph. “If you can play as a team and build a good unit with genuine people around, wonders can happen. This is going to be a special one. We spoke about creating a legacy. Generation to come, everyone will remember this was the team who started this journey and to win the championship first year is very special.”