Captaincy has mellowed Hardik: Shami

The responsibility of leadership has considerably mellowed down an otherwise fiery Hardik Pandya, which has been the key to debutants Gujarat Titans' success in the ongoing IPL, feels senior pacer Mohammed Shami.

Shami has played a lot of international cricket alongside Pandya and has always found the flamboyant all-rounder to have worn his heart on his sleeve.

"After he (Hardik) became captain, he has become more normal, his reactions have been tempered (mellowed). I have advised him to control his emotions on the field because the entire world watches cricket," Shami told mediapersons on Friday. 

"It is very important as a leader to be sensible, understand situations and he has performed that role to perfection," the veteran fats bowler added.

Titans are already in the play-offs with 18 points from 12 games.

"He has kept the team together. I have witnessed a lot of changes in him as a captain in comparison to a player," said Shami, one of the star performers for GT with 16 wickets from 12 games.

Having played under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the national team along with multiple captains in different IPL teams, Shami knows that each one has his unique style.

"Every captain has different temperament. Mahi (Dhoni) bhai was quiet, Virat was aggressive, Rohit leads according to match situations, so understanding Hardik's mindset is not rocket science."

Shami has been the highest wicket-taker GT with 16 scalps so far.

"As far as my performance is concerned, whenever I was given the white ball, I always tried to put in my 100 per cent. Not just this season, if you look at the last four seasons then you can see nobody (in teams that he played) took more wickets than me," said Shami.

"Whenever I am entrusted with responsibility, I have always tried to live up to that. I have always tried to perform my role to the 100 per cent of my capability."

Asked about the mantra behind GT's success in their debut season, Shami said: "We have made a good bonding in the team from the start. In every match we played as a group. We have put on combined performance. We have worked as a team in the tournament. Everyone contributed a little bit and hope this continues."

The premier pacer also lavished praise on former teammate-turned-coach Ashish Nehra for keeping the GT unit together.

"As a coach you need to be chill, it is important to deal the team as a family, there are plenty of responsibilities and he (Nehra) has done a remarkable job," Shami said.

GT will play Chennai Super Kings in their penultimate league game in Mumbai on Sunday.