Sunrisers very capable and strong: Vikram Solanki not undermining out-of-form SRH

India Today

IPL 2025, SRH vs GT: In the pre-match press conference, Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket, Vikram Solanki, said that his team won't undermine the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their upcoming clash on Sunday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

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00:00Exactly the role he's been playing to be honest with you. He's a fine bowler. I think it's unfair to say things haven't been going well for him.

00:10I think he's performed outstandingly well when he's been given the opportunity.

00:13Sometimes we expect and ask a lot of young cricketers and somebody that has achieved as much as Siraj has.

00:22Sometimes we're very quick to judge one or two performances but he's been exceptional certainly since he's joined us.

00:29He obviously has a very good relationship with Ashish and I think that you're seeing the fruits of his hard work.

00:36The work he's doing with Ashish, the conversations he's having with Ashish, I think you're seeing the fruits of that play out in the game so far.

00:44He's been exceptional is what I'll say.

00:50Can you be a bit more specific about the conversations he's having with Ashish?

00:55That's between a coach and a player but generally a coach's job is to instil confidence in players.

01:03Ashish has that ability and abundance. You've seen that with other players that have been part of GT.

01:10He certainly instils confidence in players and I think that's exactly what is transpiring with Siraj.

01:17Looking to the pitch here, there are a lot of runs here and the openers have been in good form.

01:30How do you look to take the approach against the Sunrisers openers in top order?

01:36I think you can sometimes fall into the trap of what's gone on previously.

01:43We're really minded of Sunrisers being a very capable and strong team with match winners throughout their line-up.

01:51As far as the pitch is concerned, I think it's so easy to make an assessment on a pitch on things that have happened in the past.

01:58What I would suggest is that we take the approach of seeing what is in front of us, playing the pitch and making decisions accordingly.

02:08Let's see how the pitch plays and not have any preconceived ideas as to what it's going to play like.

02:14We'll obviously take a look at it and make an assessment before the game.

02:18It's really important to stay focused on what is happening on the day rather than what's happened previously.

02:26What is the big difference you see in Gujarat's campaign this season?

02:30It's very early days as yet. We've not done anything differently.

02:35We pride ourselves on the work we do. We pride ourselves on preparing well.

02:42We also pride ourselves on having some fun while we're doing it.

02:45We are minded of helping each and every individual within the squad, not just the team.

02:52We're minded of looking after all of those players.

02:54We've gone about that in exactly the same way as we have done in the previous seasons.

02:58I'd say there's not much difference.

03:03Results sometimes can go your way, can go the other team's way.

03:08That's the beauty of the IPL. It's a hugely competitive competition.

03:13Very capable teams.

03:15But we, as other teams, are working extremely hard to show that we are giving a good account of ourselves in each and every game.

03:25Do you think that the toss will have an impact on the game?

03:34A toss does play an impact. You get to make the decision if you win the toss.

03:38What will you choose when winning a toss?

03:40Sorry?

03:41What will you choose when winning a toss?

03:43I'm afraid I'm not really going to share that with you, sir, if you don't mind.

03:48Is there any specific strategy to counter the SRH?

03:54Like I said, I think you've got to make an assessment and make decisions at the time.

04:00There are some very experienced players throughout our team.

04:03We trust them to make the right decisions.

04:06We trust them to express themselves and take responsibility for their decisions as well.

04:14Specifically, again, I'll repeat, SRH are a very strong team.

04:18We'll respect that in the game tomorrow.

04:22We'll respect each and every opposition we come up against, to be honest with you.

04:25But specifically strategy?

04:27Well, one, it's probably for the team and not for one to share in a wider domain.

04:35But we'll be minded of how we go about our approach tomorrow.

04:44All done, gentlemen?

04:45Will you be going to South Africa?

04:46Kagiso wants to know if you're going to be there.

04:48Look, as we've sort of mentioned, Kagiso has had to return to South Africa to deal with an important personal matter.

04:55We'll share any further information as and when it's available.

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