Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill admitted that Hardik Pandya’s departure has had a big impact on the team in the ongoing IPL 2024. After two highly successful seasons in the IPL, the Gujarat-based team could not replicate those performances in the ongoing season.
Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans won the title in 2022, which was also their first season in the IPL. In 2023, they reached the final before losing the decider against Chennai Super Kings. Before the third season, they lost the services of Hardik Pandya when the all-rounder decided to return to Mumbai Indians.
After his departure, Shubman Gill was given the opportunity to lead the team. However, the youngster did not live up to expectations in his first season as captain. The Gujarat Titans struggled for consistency throughout the season and hardly seemed to have a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Their fate was finally sealed after the do-o-die match against Kolkata Knight Riders was eliminated.
It made them the third team, after Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, to be eliminated from IPL 2024. They are currently languishing at eighth place in the points table with just five wins in 13 games.
Shubman Gill on Hardik Pandya’s departure:
Speaking ahead of his team’s final league match of the season, Shubman Gill admitted that Pandya’s absence affected the team’s balance. At the same time, the Gujarat Titans captain made it clear that the team did not depend on him alone to achieve the result.
“A player of Hardik Bhai’s caliber, if he is left out of any team, it would affect the mix of any team. But the beauty of team sport is that it is never done by just one player. Collectively, the team has to come together and perform.” consistently throughout the year. Those are the teams that do well.
“If you look at some of the other teams in the last 16 seasons that have done well, they have played collectively. You wouldn’t see one person or two or three people changing the course of a season, or one or two or 16 seasons for the case.
“A player plays an important role in that matter, but the team can’t depend on just one player. You wouldn’t see many teams that depend on just a couple of players, they do well.” Shubman Gill said.
The Gujarat Titans will now look to end the season on a winning note. They will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league match. The game is scheduled for Thursday (May 16).