Sunil Gavaskar To Play For Mumbai Indians? Hilarious Exchange With Hardik Pandya Revealed

Legendary Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar revealed a funny conversation with Hardik Pandya following the Suryakumar Yadav-led side's win over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four encounter. Gavaskar said that he met Hardik after the match and the India all-rounder told him that he was looking fit. The 76-year-old legend was quick to come up with a hilarious response as the asked Hardik to consider him for Mumbai Indians for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). "Hardik Pandya told me I look very fit," Gavaskar said.

"So I told him, alright, consider me for the Mumbai Indians during the IPL," he revealed.

Earlier, Gavaskar expressed his displeasure at the Asia Cup 2025 match between Pakistan and UAE getting delayed by an hour amid the 'handshake' controversy.

Pakistan demanded the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft after India skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha during the group stage match. Pakistan reportedly even threatened to boycott their match against UAE if Pycroft was not removed.

However, with International Cricket Council (ICC) rejecting their demands, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to delay the departure of their team from the hotel. However, after meeting and conversations with Pycroft and ICC officials, the match went ahead - but with an one-hour delay. Gavaskar heavily criticised Pakistan's antics and accused them of holding the game to ransom.

"The other thing that left a sour taste in the mouth is holding up the game and starting it one hour late. If the PCB had any issues to discuss with and about the match referee Andy Pycroft, then it had two full days after their loss to India and before the game against the UAE in which to do so," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

"By keeping everybody in suspense and not even turning up at the ground until almost the toss time, they held the game to ransom. There is simply no excuse for delaying the start of the game for an hour while haggling to get an apology from the match referee for something that was also not in any of the rule books," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Mumbai Indians Hardik Pandya Sunil Gavaskar Cricket