Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been a prominent figure in IPL off-season discussions, notably in the past month. Making a comeback to his original franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI), through an all-cash trade from Gujarat Titans (GT), the 30-year-old has been appointed as the team’s captain for the upcoming IPL season.
This leadership role sees him succeeding Rohit Sharma, a five-time title-winning skipper. During the 2023 IPL season, when he was leading GT, Hardik Pandya, in a discussion with Jio Cinema, shared insights into the success strategies of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
While acknowledging MI for acquiring top-notch players, he expressed a deeper inspiration from CSK’s proficiency in fostering an environment conducive to maximizing each player’s performance.
“There are two kind of success you can get. One is get the bestest people possible from A to B which I feel MI had, those few years where we’ve won or have the best environment possible for you to win which has been a CSK type where no matters who players are they get the best out of them.”
“That was more inspiring for me to not get the best players but to get the best environment and get this thing,” said Hardik earlier this year.
You can watch the video here :
https://x.com/hitmancricket/status/1735934536419311681?s=46
Regrettably for Hardik, GT experienced a last-ball loss to CSK in the 2023 IPL final, narrowly missing the chance to defend their title from 2022.
MI and CSK stand as the standard-setting franchises in the lucrative T20 League, each securing five titles. MI claimed victory in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020, while CSK triumphed in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023.
Hardik Pandya guided Gujarat Titans to IPL success in their inaugural season
Hardik Pandya’s assumption of the MI captaincy from Rohit Sharma has generated significant attention. However, he steps into the role following notable success with GT in 2022 and 2023.
Despite low expectations from pundits and fans at the beginning of the 2022 tournament, Pandya led GT to the pinnacle of the points table with ten wins and four losses in 14 matches.
Subsequently, they triumphed over the Rajasthan Royals in the first qualifier and secured the IPL title in a remarkable debut season by winning the grand finale.
This year, GT topped the table again with the same win-loss record, but the playoff journey differed. Despite losing the first qualifier to CSK, they won Qualifier 2 against MI to reach the final.
Unfortunately, they fell short in a thrilling finish. Nonetheless, Hardik Pandya’s two-year stint as GT skipper was a huge success, and he aims to lead MI to their first title since 2020 in the upcoming IPL season.
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