Titans' chance to cement local relationship and loyalty factor
Who owns Mumbai Indians?
"Ambanis! Reliance! Duh, too easy."
Who owns Kolkata Knight Riders?
"What a question! SRK, of course. Shahrukh Khan! SRK-Juhi Chawla."
Okay, what about Gujarat Titans?
"Umm……that company. Yaar…some American company...okay, give me a clue?"
The IPL's second-most expensive franchise, which is in its second straight final, trying to defend a crowd they won after being billed as no-hopers in 2022, don't have a recall value when it comes to their ownership.
Much of it is down to the owners - private equity firm CVC Capitals - staying away from the limelight - and instead trusting their management group led by Vikram Solanki and Ashish Nehra to call the shots.
But ask the same folks who their favorite Titans player is, and they throw out names in a torrent. Hardik Pandya. Rashid Khan. Shubman Gill. David Miller. Mohammed Shami. They say it's way too hard to pick one, but Gill and Hardik seemed equal on the popularity stakes.
This was on Friday, long before Gill inflicted carnage in the second Qualifier. The man who has hit three IPL centuries in his last four games. The man many believe is a once-in-a-generation batter. You could firmly say Ahmedabad brought their Gill-cams with them to the stadium.
Right from the kids queuing up at the merchandise store to get a number printed on a miniature jersey to folks lining up inside the ground, having made it through a connection of connections, to be able to watch the teams have a short but sharp net session at the 'B' grounds in Motera. It's as if watching him all season hadn't been enough. They were back to see him train.
They crowded the perimeter of the outdoor nets area to watch them. A number of support staff members were mobbed for selfies too, even Arush Nehra, coach Nehra's son. In return, all of them sweetly gave into their innocence, and did not crush the fans by saying they weren't players.
Once they saw Hardik, it was mayhem. And in a glimpse of how relaxed the camp was, he settled to play a game of street cricket with Arush and friends, even Rohit Sharma went full tilt in the centre. It told you of a mindset that is as calm and stable in both victory and defeat. It's something Solanki, their team director, spoke at length about. Their manner of keeping the group together wasn't about just working on techniques, but about trying to imbibe a winning culture by staying neutral.
For a while, after training had been wrapped up prior to the Qualifier 2, Hardik sat in the middle, eyes closed and soaking in the silence of an empty ground, barring the odd crack of the bat from Rohit. He seemed at ease. He was chatty with the ground staff, posed for pictures with their families and generally resonated with a relaxed vibe. He is the leader, but was the first to talk to the reserves, handhold them and guide them at training.
This included a young net bowler Thomas, who now lives in Ahmedabad and hopes to play for Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy having moved from Scotland two years ago. Thomas moved to the city after marrying a Gujarati and plays club cricket in the city. He was in awe of how special he was made to feel to the extent that they're all rooting for Titans all the way from Scotland. Certainly, they have enough support from Afghanistan and Ireland because of the trio of Rashid, Noor Ahmad and Josh Little.
When Titans met Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural game, the Dhoni mania outnumbered all else, and while you'd be naive to not expect a repeat, there's a general sense of how this game will be slightly different. It's after all a home-grown Gujarati captain leading the local team and having the backing of the same fans who rooted for India's icon.
Hardik is every bit a Dhoni clone. In terms of his mindset, and most definitely in terms of his temperament as captain. That is reason enough to root for someone who is Dhoni-like. Hardik comes from Baroda, and there is some striking contrast in how he has won over another city. Hardik himself has spoken enough about the Dhoni hand in his self-transformation from a "crazy guy" to a polished "cricket nerd" whose thinking for the game goes way beyond what it seem on the surface.
In that sense, Sunday's clash is similar in terms of what one can expect from both captains. The unflinching determination, the wave of authority, the calmness, the energy, the vibe, and more importantly, the colour - it's all set up for a grand occasion. Titans have an opportunity to do something that has been done only twice before. Winning a title can be hard; defending it even harder. Dhoni has done it, will Hardik follow?
Last year, a capacity crowd willed Titans on and then dotted the streets to celebrate an open bus parade that firmly etched the team into the city's consciousness. The connect they didn't quite have with Gujarat Lions - who were based in Rajkot - is now there with Titans. A win will firmly cement - no pun intended - this relationship and loyalty.