‘Just before the start, Hardik pulled his back’ – Aashish Kapoor reveals reason why Mohit Sharma was handed responsibility with new ball against MI

Gujarat Titans (GT) assistant coach Aashish Kapoor revealed that skipper Hardik Pandya endured a blow just prior to the start of the clash against Mumbai Indians (MI). Aashish explained that Hardik pulled his back before the start of play which is why the seasoned pacer, Mohit Sharma, bowled the first few overs in the first innings.

Notably, the 34-year-old, who is known to be a specialist in the death overs, was handed the responsibility with the new ball. As the skipper endured stiffness on his back prior to the start of the clash, the assistant coach highlighted that the plans eventually had to change as Hardik was to take up the initial couple of overs in the IPL 2023 clash.

“We had to change our plans a little bit because, just before the start, Hardik pulled his back. It was a bit stiff and he couldn’t bowl. So, we had to change the whole planning of who had to open the bowling. Hardik was opening the bowling for us all this while. That was the whole reason why he [Mohit Sharma] had to bowl upfront,” Aashish Kapoor told during the post-match press conference.

The seasoned pacer endured an underwhelming outing as he returned dismal bowling figures of 1/43 in his four overs with an economy of 10.75. On the other hand, skipper Hardik did not risk himself with the ball but could only manage to get four off three balls during the chase.

Once Surya is set, we know what he can do: Aashish Kapoor

The former cricketer further opened up on the strategy to get the prized scalp of explosive hitter Suryakumar Yadav, who clobbered an unbeaten 49-ball 103. Aashish stated that the think tank were hoping Noor Ahmad would get his wicket much like in the first meeting on April 25. However, with hardly any respite, it was Suryakumar, who outmuscled the rival bowling unit with his fiery knock which earned praises from the GT assistant coach.

“He (Suryakumar Yadav) played quite smartly. We were expecting Noor (Ahmad) might get him out. The way he played Noor, he got out to him in the previous game. Even today, he didn’t take chances against him,” told Aashish.

“Actually, the guy who took pressure off him was Vishnu Vinod. Once he is set, you all know what Surya can do. When a guy is in that kind of form, it is obviously very difficult for bowlers,” Kapoor concluded.