'It's about intention' - Hardik Pandya explains funny reaction to Rashid Khan fielding error during IPL 2022

Hardik Pandya explained his philosophy with the players as the Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper by explaining his funny reaction to the famous Rashid Khan mishap during the IPL 2022. The Titans captain was seen laughing his heart out for an embarrassing error by his ace spinner in the field. 

Pandya saw Rashid collapse while fielding in covers for pacer Pradeep Sangwan and couldn't help but erupt in a passionate laugh when the Afghan legend tried to throw the ball back in the same momentum despite tumbling. 

The throw made by Rashid hit his own foot and rolled off the turf for two extra runs in Mumbai Indians (MI) and Ishan Kishan's kitty. They ultimately won the game by five runs. Twelve months later, Pandya explained why he didn't have an issue with Rashid tumbling and making an error which may have hurt the side eventually. 

The skipper pressed home his overall mantra with the players and explained why he has been able to create and sustain a calming and successful environment with the Titans through the Rashid fielding case and his instinctive reaction to the messy attempt at cover. 

Hardik recalls funny Rashid Khan mishap to explain captaincy mantra 

Speaking to Gaurav Kapoor on the 'GK meets GT' podcast on YouTube, Hardik Pandya revealed he had no problems with Rashid's error since he understands the cricketer has his heart in the right place and his intentions are firmly aligned with the team goals.

Pandya said as long as he sees his players putting in the hard yards and doing things with the right intentions, he has no issues with them falling short on odd occasions. 

"It was so hilarious," Hardik initially said with a grin on his face, before explaining his captaincy philosophy with the Rashid incident. "It's simple. It's about the intention. For me (as captain), the number one thing is the intention. If your intention is to do well for the team and you're giving your everything, for me everything changes."

"I am a very tough cookie when it comes to people not putting their hands up for the team and trying to hide away. I don't leave them," he added. 

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Pandya said it's been his ethos right from the beginning of his career and has stuck by irrespective of the captaincy tag. "Everyone who has played with me (would attest), whether I've been the captain or not, I don't see who you are, if I see that you're not playing for the team, that is a complete no-no for me."

"For me, a lot of the times, and my players know this, it's very clear to them, it's a crystal clear line, If whatever you do (doesn't align with the team goal and isn't done with the right intentions), results I don't bother, I don't really bother about the result, for me, effort and intention matters the most," he added.