He took over the Mumbai Indians' leadership in IPL 2024.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has revealed that the current Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya could have made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for another franchise. Notably, MI found the all-rounder from the local T20 tournaments in Baroda and acquired him in the IPL 2015 player auction.
He went on to represent the franchise for seven years before joining the newly introduced IPL franchise, Gujarat Titans (GT). However, after spending two years in GT and also leading the team to glory in their maiden IPL season, Hardik made a comeback to his former franchise and took over the captaincy from five-time IPL-winning skipper Rohit Sharma.
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On being questioned about whether the former player holds any grudge against the MI captain, Irfan clearly stated that both of the Pathan brothers have always backed the youngsters coming out of their hometown, Baroda. He also recalled how former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) mentor VVS Laxman had once repented for not paying heed to his advice of including Hardik in their squad.
“No player from Baroda who went to the top can say that Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan didn’t support them at any specific time. Even VVS Laxman said that I regret that I didn’t listen to Irfan in 2012. If I had listened, then Hardik would’ve played for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Laxman said that,” stressed the former player.
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Earlier, the former all-rounder had questioned Hardik’s selection in India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. He felt that Hardik had to showcase some more impact in this role to justify his inclusion in the side.
“What I feel about Hardik Pandya is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him that much priority as they have given him so far. If you think you are a primary all-rounder, you need to make that kind of an impact at the international level,” he had stated before the mega ICC tournament.
Notably, the 31-year-old defended 15 runs in the final over against South Africa during the championship final to win India’s second T20 WC title. He also had a brilliant outing in the tournament with 144 runs at a strike rate of 151.57 and 11 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.64. However, Irfan has also defended his previous comments on the player, as he believes that these are a part and parcel of playing this sport.
“There is nothing wrong if you criticise a player. If you are playing cricket, you have to face it. It happened with Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. They never made any feel that they were above the game,” he concluded.
