The team finished at the bottom last season.
The former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh predicted that Hardik Pandya could have a blistering season for Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He also acknowledged Pandya as a “confident” and “positive” player, who made a brilliant comeback to win two major ICC titles for India, after coming back from the horrible IPL season last year. As things have already changed for him, he could be “at his best” in this IPL 2025.
“He (Pandya) is a very confident player, very positive guy. He has tremendous self-belief that he can do anything. That makes him different from others. It’s really heartening to see (the way) he has progressed after a difficult last year. Things have changed for him. He helped India win two ICC trophies. This year he will be at his best. All the wrong things of the past are gone, it is a fresh year for him”, he said to JioStar.
Previously, star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya went through immense criticism and rage from the fans after he replaced Rohit Sharma as the skipper of MI last season. Rohit led the Mumbai franchise to their five IPL trophies, which is the joint-highest in the tournament history alongside the Chennai Super Kings. Rohit’s sudden axe from captaincy made the supporters furious over the newly appointed skipper.
Moreover, the season did not go their way as the team managed to win only four games out of their 14 matches. The Pandya-led team finished with the wooden spoon.
ALSO READ:
Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians will be looking to bounce back after three poor IPL seasons following their last title win in 2020. Since then, MI qualified for the playoffs only once in IPL 2023 but finished fourth in the table.
Former MI coach Mark Boucher opined that the tough times have only made Pandya stronger. He is now ready to take on the second IPL season as Mumbai’s skipper and his third overall after leading Gujarat Titans to glory in IPL 2022.
“He is a battle-hardened cricketer. He has been through tough times, injuries, form, many things but he overcame everything and achieved success. The greats of cricket have to be tough, and he has shown that. IPL is better with Hardik on the field, the game of cricket is better with Hardik on the field”, he stated.
Mumbai Indians will start their season against fellow five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk tomorrow.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
