Having seen both of them from close quarters, Gujarat Titans spinner R Sai Kishore feels that his franchise skipper Hardik Pandya is very similar to veteran MS Dhoni in terms of leadership traits.
Sai Kishore spent a few years with CSK before to joining Gujarat Titans.
At a virtual interaction session with the media on Friday, Sai Kishore said, "Hardik and Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) are quite similar in the way they handle things, they both are pretty calm. "One quality about Hardik that particularly stands out to me is his ability to manage success and loss on an equal footing. He is a cool-headed guy, and that suits him," he said.
The 28-year-old claimed that in order for Gujarat Titans, who won the IPL in their inaugural season last year, to be successful, they will need to repeat their previous season's performances. It is up to us to decide whether or not to accept the title of defending champions. Last year, we played well, which is why we prevailed. The tag won't be as important if we can accomplish it, in my opinion. The new rule of having an 'Impact Player' in IPL will make it more manageable than what it was in domestic circuit, he said.
"It's more akin to the super-substitution rule, where we can substitute either a bowler or a batsman. It's similar to playing with 12 people, in essence. This (rule) has already been used by us in domestic (cricket). The only difference is that we are now only limited to using it until the 20th over, as opposed to the 14th over in domestic play. It should be much simpler to manage in 20 overs, he said. The left-arm spinner for Tamil Nadu stated that he hopes to earn a spot in the National team through successful IPL campaigns.
Well, there are many left-arm spinners in India, and the IPL is a great opportunity for them, but I'd rather be here now and play well for Gujarat. My skill set has increased over the past five years, and I want to keep getting better. I'm going to play for India if I have a successful IPL season, he said.
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