Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya walked off the pitch after seemingly suffering an injury in the 18th over of their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) Bat the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. The injury-prone all-rounder confirmed after the match that it was just cramps and nothing more serious.
"It was just cramps, nothing else," Hardik said while clearing the air after their win over RR. Hardik took himself off the attack in the 18th over following his unbeaten 87 runs off 52 balls.
Injury issues have plagued Hardik's career for the last couple of seasons, but since his move to GT, the 29-year-old has been doing well with both bat and ball in the ongoing 2022 season. He gave his fans a lot to worry about as he walked back into the dugout in the middle of his third over.
Hardik, who was named Player of the Match, himself spoke about his fears over his fitness at the post-match presentation.
"A lot of hard work for me tonight. It was just cramps, nothing serious," he said.
It was a second consecutive fifty-plus score for the all-rounder who is aiming to make a national comeback ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, in October-November. He is batting higher up the order at number four than he did for Mumbai Indians (MI), allowing him more time to pace his innings.
"I am not used to batting this long. It gives me a lot of time. I can calculate and take risks. In the last game it did not come off but today I made sure I did. I have been in this situation where I have taken the role of scoring 12-ball 30. It is difficult but now at four I can control the game," the Titans captain reiterated.
On the added leadership responsibility that Hardik has taken up this season, he added: "Captaincy is fun and it allows me to take responsibility and be the flag-bearer. The group carries one another. My motto was I wanted everyone to be happy."
