According to Kirsten, Hardik showed eagerness to learn as captain, engaging with all of his teammates

Kirsten, who led India to the World Cup title in 2011, praised Hardik, who excelled as both captain and player in the team’s inaugural season.

Hardik Pandya’s eagerness to learn as captain and his ability to engage with his teammates effectively aided the Gujarat Titans’ title-winning run in their IPL debut. According to team mentor Gary Kirsten on Sunday.

“He’s been fantastic, and I’ve enjoyed working with him. He’s a high-profile player in India, but he’s incredibly humble and eager to learn. As a leader also engage with his players, which I believe is crucial. He’s tried to help the youngsters; he’s come in also taken on a different role,” he said to the IPL’s host broadcaster.

“You never stop learning as a coach; every IPL is a learning experience; that’s what I enjoy,” the South African said of his experience. I’ve enjoyed working with Ashish (Nehra), who is highly tactical putting together a game plan on the fly is tricky.

“There are so many variables in each game,” he said, “but I’ve enjoyed the responsibility players have taken to win games for us.”

The team’s ability to win games under challenging situations became its trademark.

“You’re looking for good balance, good depth in the auction, but most importantly. You’re looking for players who can do different roles; one thing we’ve learned from Ashish is finding guys who are versatile, also at 4, 5, and 6 we’ve got that.”

“We all got energy out of it; we had a great bowling attack through the end. We went a bowler strong and a batter light, but we were always confident, just to get a good balance in the team,” Kirsten said of her contributions.