IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans assistant coach Mithun Manhas downplays Hardik Pandya’s absence from bowling

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya has had three wickets to his credit in IPL 2023. He last bowled against Lucknow Super Giants on May 7 and went wicketless, conceding 37 runs in three overs.

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya gestures towards spectators during the IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad on May 15, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP

Hardik Pandya did not bowl in Gujarat Titans’ previous away game against Mumbai Indians last week due to a stiff back. On Monday, as the team featured in its final home game of the season at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Hardik again skipped bowling.

The Titans’ assistant coach Mithun Manhas, however, downplayed the issue, saying that with plenty of bowling options available, the team management wanted to give the captain a bit of rest. “Hardik is pretty much okay. We still have the liberty to give him rest and we have the options and that’s why he’s not bowling. Otherwise, he would have bowled. He’s pretty much fine, and we just want him to be fit 100 per cent. He’s just giving himself some extra time, that’s all,” Manhas said.

Ahead of the IPL 2023, there was a buzz that with the ODI World Cup set to be held in October-November, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) would ask the franchises to monitor the workload of the top players.

“It depends on the individual and what he has been feeling on that particular day. They have been playing cricket day in and day out, so it’s about keeping them fit - mentally and physically - and giving them that cushion,” Manhas explained.

Batter Vijay Shankar got hit in the nets on Sunday and missed out on the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Manhas, however, said: “There’s nothing to worry about. Just a small niggle, we have the option that’s why he didn’t play. Vijay Shankar is fine.”

The GT team management brought back fast bowler Yash Dayal in the final XI. The youngster from Uttar Pradesh was hit for five sixes by KKR’s Rinku Singh in April and did not feature in any of the games for more than a month. Talking about how the team management helped him move on from the horrors of the KKR game, Manhas said, “A player is the direct product of the environment. You have to nurture him. It’s like a flower. If there’s something (wrong) with the flower, you just don’t pluck it and throw it away. You need to nurture it, similarly, you need to take care of the boys - physically and mentally. You are like a family for two months. If you understand them and they trust you, there’s nothing like that because then they will open up to you. Then it’s easy to take care of them.”