New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Gujarat Titans (GT) have begun their IPL 2026 preparations with an ongoing camp led by head coach Ashish Nehra and assistant coach Parthiv Patel at the Madan Paliwal Miraj Sports Centre in Nathdwara, Rajasthan.

Colonel Arvinder Singh, the franchise’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), said the ongoing camp’s purpose is to serve as a crucial ‘cricketing kickstart’ for coaches and players free from their Vijay Hazare Trophy commitments. The likes of R Sai Kishore and Ashok Sharma have been spotted putting in the hard yards at GT’s camp.

“That is purely a camp for our cricketers, like whoever was available at this point. We had 13 players available from teams who either did not qualify for the later stages of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, or after having finished that, came for the camp, maybe even just for a day or two.

“This is like the kickstart from a cricketing perspective for the team – the coaching staff and players getting together, and trying to get them to start thinking as GT all over again,” Singh told IANS in an exclusive conversation on Thursday.

GT sprung a surprise by winning the IPL in their debut season in 2022 and have established themselves as a consistent side, as seen from their entering the playoffs three times. The side’s relaxed team environment has earned praise from former and current players, who have noted it as a refreshing change compared to the set-ups of other teams.

“GT came into being 14 years after the original eight franchises were already in place. Whether it’s me, others, and on the management side, and even on the coaching side, we have a whole host of experienced people who have seen how this ecosystem called the IPL has grown from the beginning itself.

“Part of our learning was the fact that every team is good and everybody has the same amount of money to spend in the auction. Everybody tries to do their best on the field once you have a team in place. But how do you get the best out of these players, or at least create the conditions where they have nothing else to look at?

“The fact that they need to go out, practice, play, practice, play, repeat, play, and try and win for the franchise – in so doing, our collective intention as a franchise is to ensure that we make them feel a part of Gujarat Titans. Now, some call it, like we pamper them or things like that. But I can assure you, there’s nothing like that.”

“We just like to make them feel part of the franchise by taking care of anything big or small, which creates the right conditions for them not to have to worry about anything else. But also, make them be motivated enough to ensure that they’re putting their best foot forward. Beyond that, there are no guarantees in sport; you can only create those conditions and put together a group of like-minded players and people to try and get the best out of them,” explained Singh.

He further spoke about the never give up attitude, defining GT’s play in the IPL so far. “Again, at the cost of being a little boastful, GT has been the most consistent team in the last four seasons. If you look at it from the time we came into being, we made the playoffs thrice, including being runners-up and champions once.

“We missed out on the playoffs only once in the last four years. There is no other franchise that has been as consistent as GT during this period. Again, it only speaks volumes of how the franchise conducts itself, and the players become part of the ecosystem of Gujarat Titans, as well as the entire support staff – that’s all you can do at the end of the day.

“Then of course, it’s up to the players, the motivation levels of which there is no dearth in our team, and the collective will to win that the team exhibits on the ground. In Hindi, I’ve heard people say that, ‘Yeh haar nahi maante (they just don’t give up).’

“That’s how we also look at it – it’s never over till it’s over. So you put in your best and then, fortunately, this system has worked for us, and I see no reason why it should not continue to work for us,” concluded Singh.

–IANS

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