Hardik Pandya, an Indian all-rounder, has dominated the IPL off-season headlines, particularly in the last month.
The 30-year-old has been chosen Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper for the 2017 IPL season after returning to his first franchise in an all-cash swap from Gujarat Titans (GT). He will take up the captaincy from five-time champion Rohit Sharma.
During the 2023 IPL season, while heading GT, Hardik spoke with Jio Cinema about the success strategies of the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. While praising MI for acquiring the greatest players available, he was more impressed by CSK’s ability to establish an environment conducive to maximizing each player’s productivity.
“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.
Hardik Pandya
Here is a video of the same:
Unfortunately for Hardik Pandya, GT was defeated by CSK in the 2023 IPL final on the last ball, narrowly missing out on retaining their championship from 2022.
MI and CSK have set the standard as premier franchises in the profitable T20 League. MI seized titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 and CSK claimed victory in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023. Though on par with 5 championships each, their journeys have traced distinct arcs to glory.
Gujarat Titans win IPL in first attempt under Hardik Pandya’s leadership
While Hardik Pandya’s replacement of Rohit Sharma as MI captain has caused quite a stir, he comes into the post after a string of victories with GT in 2022 and 2023.
Though discounted by most, the Titans shocked in 2022. Led by Hardik Pandya, they topped the table with 10 wins, 4 losses. They then triumphed over the Royals in both the qualifier and finale to remarkably seize the IPL crown in their first season.
This year was much the same, with GT finishing on top of the table with the identical win-loss record. During the playoffs, however, the road was drastically different, with the team losing the first qualifier against CSK and then winning Qualifier 2 versus MI to reach the final.
They were not, however, fortunate with a similar climax this time, coming agonizingly short in a dramatic finish. Despite this, Hardik’s two-year term as GT captain was a huge success, and he will attempt to lead MI to their first IPL trophy since 2020 in the following season.