'The Calmness he Brings is Reminiscent of MS Dhoni': Sunil Gavaskar Credits Hardik Pandya for Gujarat Titans' IPL Success

For the second season in a row, Gujarat Titans have entered the IPL final and will be fighting for the trophy. The franchise made debut last season and produced a stunning campaign to top the regular season, defeated Rajasthan Royals in the first qualifier and again in the summit clash to become the champions.

To prove that the performance wasn’t a fluke, GT again topped the points table to advance to the playoffs, lost to Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier before outclassing Mumbai Indians to make it to the title clash.

Different players stepping up through the season, the red-hot form of opener Shubman Gil, the incisiveness of their bowling attack that has seen them occupy the top-three spots in the leading wicket-takers list of IPL 2023 among other factors has contributed to another impressive campaign.

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar reckons that a lot of credit of GT’s current state should go to their captain Hardik Pandya who has created a ‘happy’ atmosphere for his teammates to flourish.

Gavaskar compared Pandya’s calmness to that of the legendary CSK captain MS Dhoni.

“When he (Pandya) was captaining for the first time last year, nobody knew what to expect because he has been one of the most exciting and excitable cricketer as well. But that excitable part, we have seen over the last year. The calmness that he brings into the team is reminiscent of MSD. This is a happy team, which is exactly what we see with CSK as well. Hardik has to take a lot of credit for that,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Pandya has time and again spoken about his admiration for Dhoni, calling him his ‘dear brother’ and claiming one has to be a ‘proper devil’ to hate the former India captain.

Pandya and Dhoni will come face to face for the third time this season when their respective teams square off in the title clash tonight.

“He (Hardik) has been very open about his admiration and affection for MSD, just like all those who have followed MSD’s career. When they go out to the toss, they will be very friendly and smiling all that. But when it comes to the match, it will be a completely different atmosphere. It’s a very good opportunity from Hardik Pandya to show how quickly he has learned,” Gavaskar said.