"IPL Gave Me My Identity": Hardik Pandya's Passionate Post Ahead Of First MI Match As Captain
Mumbai Indians captain paid rich tribute to IPL as he completed 10 years in the league.
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya is truly the product of the Indian Premier League (IPL). After joining the franchise in 2015 for a meager fee of INR 10 lakh, Hardik has gone on to register his name among the finest all-rounders in the world. As the Baroda-born cricketer begins a new adventure in his career, as the captain of Mumbai Indians, he shared a passionate video on social media, highlighting how important the T20 league has been in his career.
"In my 10th IPL season, grateful for the journey, for the growth, for everything that's come my way  And to be back with a team that's always been in my heart," Hardik captioned the post.
In my 10th IPL season, grateful for the journey, for the growth, for everything that's come my way And to be back with a team that's always been in my heart pic.twitter.com/vNnT6XVefH
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 22, 2024
"IPL has given me everything. IPL gave me my identity. Otherwise, I would still be in Baroda where I am but not this Hardik. Some other Hardik would've been there," the MI skipper could be heard saying in the video.
The all-rounder is set to captain Mumbai Indians (MI), replacing their five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy-winning skipper Rohit Sharma in the 2024 season of the cash-rich league.
In November last year, Pandya moved back from Gujarat Titans (GT) to his former franchise as part of a trade between both franchises. The star all-rounder spent two momentous years with GT, spearheading their campaign in the cash-rich league with aplomb. In GT's debut season in 2022, Hardik got them off to a fairytale start, with the team lifting the coveted trophy.
This heartwarming gesture between these two-star players comes when fans of both players are at loggerheads on social media, accusing the team of betraying the five-time IPL-winning captain by removing him from the post despite his contributions. During the recent press conference organised by the team ahead of the season, Pandya did not answer when asked by media about a so-called "captaincy clause" in his MI contract.
Even the head coach, Mark Boucher maintained silence on being asked about the reason for removing Rohit from captaincy, adding more fire to fan wars and rumour-mongering on social media.
With ANI inputs
Mumbai Indians
Hardik Pandya