New Delhi, March 16
Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra opened up about replacing two key players - Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024 season.
In two years of GT's IPL journey, Shami and Pandya have played a crucial role in guiding the franchise to back-to-back finals.
However, Pandya traded to five-time champions Mumbai Indians and Shami being ruled out of the entire tournament after undergoing surgery on his Achilles tendon, GT will miss two key players in their playing XI.
Nehra talked about replacing the experience and talent that both players offer to the squad ahead of the new season and feels that players like Umesh Yadav and Sai Kishore will get the opportunity to step in and perform for the team.
"In any sport, you have to move on. You can't buy experience to replace Hardik, Shami, it's not going to be easy. But there's the learning curve. Every year, new guys come and they step in and that's how teams move forward. In IPL, every team has the luxury of 25 players. It's a 12-person game, but you are talking about Hardik Pandya and Shami - to fill those shoes is not easy. But like I said, we have enough people, Umesh Yadav, again a guy who has been playing IPL [for] 10-12 years. Sai Kishore, he didn't play last year, but he's been doing so well. So every year, you will see new guys and you have to believe in yourself and prepare for that," Nehra said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
One of the notable names GT acquired during the IPL 2024 auction was Shahrukh Khan. The 28-year-old was acquired for a hefty price tag of Rs 7.4 crore. Last year he showed glimpses of his true potential by playing some influential knocks for Punjab Kings. He mainly appeared playing the role of a finisher. Nehra talked about Shahrukh's role and stated that the fans are going to see him as the "main actor."
"We're going to see Shahrukh Khan become the main actor. IPL is a very long tournament. It's not like we're playing just three, four, five matches. Conditions are also difficult in May and June. It will be hard on the players, especially fast bowlers. Injuries can also happen. So every player we have is important and those we have are experienced. Spencer Johnson, if you see, wherever he's played, he's played well. Azmatullah Omarzai again, he has all the skills in this world as an allrounder and we are very hopeful that they'll have a great IPL," Nehra said when answering a question about the finishers in the squad.
GT will play five-time champions Mumbai Indians in their opening game of the season on March 24 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.