IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya emulates MS Dhoni, receives IPL trophy and hands it over to youngsters

Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya led his side from the front, as they lifted the IPL 2022 trophy, after beating Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on Sunday. After the win, Hardik himself acknowledged that MS Dhoni has had a big influence on him. 

Having learnt the art of captaincy under Dhoni, while the two shared the dressing room for team India, Pandya was sublime for his side throughout the season and his gesture during the Gujarat Titans' title celebration also caught the eye of fans, as he did something similar to Dhoni. 

The former Indian skipper was renowned for humble manners, whenever receiving the IPL trophy after winning four titles for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Dhoni used to hand over the trophy to his teammates. Rather than being the focal point himself, he used to like being on the sidelines and letting his teammates take all the attention whenever his team used to win. 

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Pandya also did something similar after Gujarat Titans' win. As soon as he received the IPL trophy from BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and Honorary secretary, Jay Shah, Pandya immediately handed it over to his young teammates and went to the side himself, continuing to celebrate his side's triumph in IPL 2022. 

His gesture has since gone viral on social media:

That moment when the @gujarat_titans captain @hardikpandya7 received the IPL trophy from the hands of Mr. @SGanguly99, President, BCCI and Mr. @JayShah, Honorary Secretary, BCCI. #TATAIPL | #GTvRR pic.twitter.com/QKmqRcemlY

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 29, 2022

Pandya's side have been impressive all throughout the season as they finished at top of the league standings with 20 points, and then outclassed Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Qualifier 1, before beating them again in the final. 

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Earlier in the league stage as well, GT had won both of their matches versus RR. Meanwhile, Pandya also surpassed Dhoni by becoming only the second player after Rohit Sharma to win 5 IPL trophies. 

On Monday, the IPL 2022 winners Gujarat Titans will host a roadshow in Ahmedabad to celebrate their title triumph with their fans.