Hardik Pandya Issues An Open Challenge To Every Team Before IPL 2025

Mumbai Indians’ captain, Hardik Pandya, has opened up on how draining the IPL 2024 season was for him leading the five-time champions, where most of the fans didn’t accept not only his arrival back in the side but replacing Rohit Sharma as the new captain in the team.

Many fans at the Wankhede Stadium booed him during the toss when he walked out to bat or even when he stood out at his mark with the ball in hand. The situation was incredibly hard for him to stay in the middle.

Hardik Pandya reveals his feelings from IPL 2024

The premier Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, reckoned that it was important for him to survive in the field as he never tried to leave the battlefield. He also realized that cricket would always remain his best friend in such situations.

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“It’s always about where you don’t leave the battlefield. For me, it was more of surviving and not winning. That year was when the longest I had to hold my ground and not leave the battlefield.” The Baroda-born expressed this in a recent interaction on Star Sports.

“The way everything was panning out, I realize cricket is something that will always be my best friend, and that will get me out of it.” He revealed.

The 31-year-old drilled just 216 runs in the last season of the 20-over league in 13 innings at a strike rate of 143.04, besides picking up 11 wickets in 12 innings at an average of 35.18 and an economy rate of 10.75.

“I kept pushing, and I think when all the hard work and everything came, I don’t think I would have written a better script, which turned out to be my life where winning the World Cup and coming back and getting the love, I think it was a 360-degree turnaround for me.” Hardik Pandya addressed this in the same discussion.

“Cricket is something which I knew that if I remain persistent, honest in my work, and hardworking, then I would be able to come out of this. But when was the time that I didn’t know? But exactly it was written in the script by the God where it turned out to be in three and a half months.” The all-rounder claimed.

Hardik Pandya turns the clock with a superb T20 World Cup 2024 performance

Hardik went to the United States of America with a struggling form and so much outside noise in the 2024 T20 World Cup. His contribution with the bat and ball in hand made the difference in the game, as he clubbed 144 runs in six innings at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57, shouldering on one half-century.

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With the ball, he picked up 11 wickets in eight innings at an average of 17.36 and a strike rate of 13.63. Even in the final, he bowled the last over and put the game in India’s court to lift their second T20 World Cup title.

Hardik Pandya unavailable for MI vs CSK IPL 2025 Encounter

Due to his two offenses of the slow over rate in the last season of the league, with the last one coming against the Lucknow Super Giants in the last group-stage clash, Hardik Pandya got banned for one game.

Coincidentally, that one game will be the opening contest between Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings on March 23 at the Wankhede Stadium. One of Suryakumar Yadav or Rohit Sharma is likely to lead the side in Hardik Pandya’s absence.