Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya admitted that during his difficult IPL 2024 season, his focus was more on survival than on winning. Hardik rejoined MI ahead of the season through a trade after spending two years with Gujarat Titans (GT).
Appointed as MI’s skipper in place of long-time leader Rohit Sharma, Hardik faced a turbulent season. He was repeatedly booed by home fans at Wankhede Stadium and even during MI’s away matches across the country.
The 31-year-old struggled with both bat and ball, averaging just 18 while conceding runs at an economy rate of nearly 11. MI, despite having a star-studded squad, finished last in the standings with only four wins in 14 games. Reflecting on his challenging 2024 season ahead of IPL 2025, Hardik told JioStar (via Hindustan Times):
“It’s always about when you don’t leave the battlefield. For me, it was about surviving, maybe not winning. That year was a year where, for the longest time, I had to hold my ground, not leave the battlefield which was the ground. I realised how everything was panning out, that cricket will be my best friend, and he will get me out of it.”
He further added:
“Yeah, it kept, I kept pushing, kept pushing. And I think when all the hard work and everything came, I don’t think I wouldn’t be able to write a script, which it turned out to be in my life. That six months of my phase where winning the World Cup and coming back and getting the kind of love we got. I think it was a complete 360 turnaround for me.”
“And I think cricket was something which I knew that if I be persistent, if I be honest with my work, if I be really hardworking, I think I’ll be able to come out of this. But when I didn’t know, as exactly said, it was written in the script by the God where it turned out to be two and a half months.”
“The aim was to gain experience”- Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya revealed that MI’s goal in the 2025 IPL auction was to build an experienced bowling unit for the upcoming season. The franchise re-signed New Zealand pacer Trent Boult and strengthened their squad with seasoned IPL players like Mitchell Santner and Deepak Chahar.
“This year, the goal was to get experience. I think you can see from the whole sheet where we wanted experienced bowling attack. Because Wankhede is where you get checked, and it can be quite intimidating playing in IPL in Mumbai, in Wankhede,” said Hardik.
He further continued:
“The wickets are usually high-scoring, so we prioritized experienced bowlers who can utilize swing and bounce effectively. I believe we’ve built a strong squad from top to bottom; now, it’s up to us to perform.”
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