'He's been the man I can rely on' - Hardik Pandya reveals his most trusted player in Gujarat Titans camp

Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya revealed that all-rounder Rashid Khan is his most trusted teammate when the situation becomes challenging. Hardik and Co. have made their way into the final for the second time in a row after defeating Mumbai Indians (MI) by 62 runs in Qualifier 2 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, May 26, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The hosts of the summit clash will now face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday, May 28. While young opener Shubman Gill stole the show with his third hundred of the season, Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan assisted GT with his magic in spin bowling.

He took two key wickets, removing Tilak Varma and Tim David to keep GT in the game. Notably, Rashid currently sits second on the IPL 2023 Purple Cap list with 27 wickets to his name. Hardik extolled the Afghan spinner after the game culminated, stating Rashid is the one he can rely on when things get tricky.

"(On Rashid) I think we've spoken enough about him. He's been the man I can rely on when the team is in a tough situation," Hardik said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

Gill will be a superstar in international and franchise cricket: Hardik

The India all-rounder went on to laud Shubman Gill for his outstanding batting effort, calling his knock one of the 'finest'. Gill, according to the Titans skipper, will be a superstar in both international and franchise cricket. Notably, the 23-year-old hit 129 off 60 deliveries, including seven boundaries and ten maximums, the most by a batter in IPL playoffs.

"Today's innings was one of the finest, he never looked rushed. It felt like someone was throwing balls and he was hitting. He will be a superstar in international and franchise cricket. I do have conversations with him, I try that people feed off my energy. I think the clarity and confidence he is carrying is amazing," the skipper added.