Our players trained to take themselves to tough places: Titans’ Vikram Solanki | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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Our players trained to take themselves to tough places: Gujarat Titans’ Vikram Solanki

May 29, 2022 09:11 PM IST

The new IPL team’s director of cricket hails the players and coaches Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten for the newcomers going all the way to the final

The 2022 IPL will be about the thrilling cricket played by Gujarat Titans. One of the two new teams - it was bought by CVC Capital Partners’ Irelia Company Pvt Ltd - Titans had a rough ride into the season. It won the rights for the Ahmedabad franchise with a bid of 5,625 crore, but had an anxious wait as BCCI made inquiries into questions over interests in betting businesses in Europe. Titans had the shortest time to plan for the first season. But they have proved the most consistent team while reaching the final. Ahead of Sunday’s final, HT spoke to GT’s director of cricket, Vikram Solanki, a former England batsman, on the team’s rapid growth and success.

GT reached the final in their debut season. (BCCI) PREMIUM
GT reached the final in their debut season. (BCCI)

Excerpts:

You seemed to have just addressed your first press conference and here you are in the final. The script couldn’t have been better.

Our whole approach to IPL, or for that matter this franchise, was that we were going to give the best account of ourselves. Throughout the tournament we have worked extremely hard, tried to create an environment where people and our group as a whole are allowed to flourish, grow together. We’ve done that. I agree nobody could have written the script quite like that, for us to come back to Ahmedabad is quite brilliant.

You guys didn’t have enough time to strategise and prepare.

Time was short but we did our absolute best. Pre-auction, post-auction and we worked extremely hard. We had some performances that got us here but a lot of planning and strategy were involved in getting us here.

Your auction strategy didn’t seem to make cricket logic, but what you have managed is brilliant. How did you plan your auction? Like Moneyball?

I wouldn’t use that comparison (Moneyball). That would be suggesting we were entirely stats oriented. Our approach was to deal with the assessment of what was required and what options were available. We are very proud of the season, but we were very fortunate. We consider ourselves in a very good position with our pre-auction picks. Hardik Pandya as captain, Rashid Khan as a proven performer in T20 and Shubman Gill as a bright young talent in Indian cricket—those picks allowed us to establish the nucleus of the side and build on that. When we went to the auction, we were in the same position as everyone else. Established teams had four (retentions), we had three but we were in the same position in terms of the purse available. We went about it in a careful process.

One thing I have mentioned many times is Ashish Nehra’s qualities as a coach. I can’t stop commending. His qualities as a person actually make him the coach he is. But he is a very considerate, thought-out cricketing mind. As far as the auction is concerned, between myself, Gary (mentor and batting coach Kirsten), Ashish, Sandeep Raja (analyst), Ashish Kapoor, that was our team that got to the auction. There was a lot of discussion and lot of players to consider, video to watch. There was lot of work, time was short and we had to squeeze in all of the strategy and thinking.

Some of your player picks were interesting. Hardik Pandya had the Gujarat connection, but why David Miller? Not many teams would have gone for him, he was not consistent in earlier seasons.

Selection is always a matter of opinion. For each argument you might put about a player, you have to accept that unless you are not ready to listen to someone else’s opinion, there is an opposing view. Our opinion of Miller was that he is a very fine player; he perhaps hadn’t had the opportunity, or the consistent opportunities at other franchises. We thought he will be a good fit for us. We were very aware of his sort of ability and there is no doubt Davey has a brilliant IPL season. It was never a doubt for us in terms of his quality.

Even Shubman Gill didn’t look like a clear-cut choice.

If you want to pick a team on viewing statistical analysis, then actually adding consideration of the upside of a player, that is what we chose. Equally, if you choose a player on the basis of an instinct, it is also fine. Everyone goes about picking teams and analysing players in different ways. One may be successful in any given occasion, and might be unsuccessful on any given occasion. We considered Shubman to be one of the brightest talents in Indian cricket and were very pleased we could have him.

You have brought the best out of Wriddhiman Saha, used keeper-batters, including Matthew Wade. How have you handled them?

Saha has brought the best out of himself. We facilitate performance, it is not essentially us that go out… Ashish and Gary and the other coaches created an environment. (So that) People with the ability gave the best environment for them to grow and perform. Saha has waited and taken his opportunities. He has been in brilliant form through the season, even when he wasn’t playing. It was just an opinion as far as the XI we were playing, initially he was not in that side, and when he got his opportunity...

Your players have been calm under pressure. What work was done for that?

The players deserve all the credit. They are fabulous, they have been prepared to take themselves to tough places in practice. Be hard on themselves, challenge themselves in practice, and that has played out in them being able to manage those pressure situations. They being able to get us across the line in those tight situations—all of that credit goes entirely to the players and the coaching staff, Nehra and Gary.

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