Hardik Pandya was a busy man on Sunday before the start of Mumbai Indians’ Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 campaign against his former franchise Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It was a bit of homecoming for the Baroda-based cricketer, having led the Titans to an IPL title win in 2022 and then to the final in 2023. Hence, besides warming up for the big clash, he was seen chatting with GT head coach Ashish Nehra before sharing a heartwarming hug with Sachin Tendulkar. Hardik was also spotted having a lengthy chat with former MI skipper Rohit Sharma.
Hardik was acquired through trade from the Titans last November and was later named the captain of Mumbai Indians in mid-December as he replaced Rohit, who led the franchise to five IPL titles during his captaincy reign from 2013 to 2023.
While the decision, which was out down to Rohit‘s dwindling numbers with the bat over the last few seasons, was lambasted by veterans, experts and even MI fans, Hardik admitted that there will be no awkwardness between the two when they kick off the season. Later, clips from MI’s practice session also revealed that Hardik and Rohit had kept the outside noise aside to unite in the cause to lead the team to an unprecedented sixth IPL title.
On Sunday, before the start of the match against Gujarat Titans, Hardik shared a warm hug with Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who is still the mentor for MI before having a lengthy chat with Rohit. Later, he was seen sharing a laughter with Nehra as well.
‘I could have stopped Hardik had he…’
Earlier this month, Nehra had opened up on Hardik’s decision to leave Gujarat after two successful years. Making an honest admission on the call, the former India cricketer said that he did not make an attempt to stop the all-rounder from making the switch after learning that he was going back to his old franchise.
“I never tried to convince Pandya to stay back. As you play more, you gain experience. I could have stopped him had he gone to any other franchise. He (Pandya) played here for two years but he has gone to a team (MI), where he has played previously for 5-6 years,” Nehra said.
MI won the toss and opted to bowl against Gujarat.
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