"What more do you need when the captain shows such confidence in you?" - Rahul Tewatia credits Hardik Pandya

Gujarat Titans all-rounder Rahul Tewatia has credited skipper Hardik Pandya for giving him full confidence as a finisher. The 29-year-old has revealed that Hardik has gifted him a couple of match bats.

Tewatia, who made his name with the Rajasthan Royals, boasts of one of the highest strike rates for the Gujarat Titans since the franchise made its IPL debut last year. In 27 matches since last year, the southpaw strikes at 157.30, second only to Rashid Khan's 209.80.

Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo's Cricket Monthly, the leg-spinning all-rounder recalled how once Hardik blindly trusted him to finish matches and reckons a player requires nothing more than such confidence. He said:

"This season he has given me two match bats. He brought new bats one day and asked me to check them. I told him they were ready to be used in a match and he said: keep them. Those are the bats I've played with so far this season.

"Last season, after seven or eight matches, he told me: 'Good to see that you're consistently finishing matches for us.' Every time we'd be in a tough situation, he would say: 'Oh, I know that Tewu will finish the job for us.' What more do you need when the captain shows such confidence in you?"

"More than me, my family is happy" - Tewatia

Rahul Tewatia. (Image Credits: Twitter)

The Haryana-born cricketer went on to claim that he is glad to see his family watch him on television unlike before when there were uncertainties over his inclusion in the playing eleven. He added:

"More than me, my family is happy. There were times in the past when my family would switch on the TV and wouldn't see my name in the XI. They all would become sad. After four to five matches in the 2020 season, I told them, you don't need to be sad anymore. You will not need to switch off the TV anymore."

While Tewatia made it to India's squad for the T20 series against England in early 2021, he is yet to make his debut.