The star all-rounder didn't enjoy the last IPL season due to his team's dwindling form.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra expressed his surprise that fast bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya has suddenly vanished from contention for India’s captaincy positions despite putting in consistent performances. Chopra felt that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 presents the perfect opportunity to prove his credentials.
Hardik, who was elevated to vice-captaincy in white-ball formats at one point and even led India in a few matches, has been demoted from his vice-captaincy in ODIs in favour of Shubman Gill.
Chopra felt that after his success of winning the IPL 2022 as Gujarat Titans (GT) captain in their debut season, it is time for the Baroda all-rounder to make his case stronger with the Mumbai Indians (MI) this season.
“The biggest opportunity is for Hardik Pandya. He was almost the heir apparent to Rohit Sharma at one point. He used to be the captain wherever Rohit Sharma wasn’t there. It was almost a given that he would be the white-ball captain. However, suddenly, he has gone out of the captaincy list,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
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After winning the title in their first season, Pandya led GT to the final in IPL 2023. He switched back to MI last year while also taking over the captaincy reins from Rohit Sharma.
His returning season didn’t go well as Pandya received a lot of flak from MI’s fans for replacing Rohit. The five-time champions also being stuck in a rut and finishing bottom of the table in IPL 2024 didn’t help as the criticism intensified.
“After that, suddenly, he is nowhere. He is not in the captaincy list. So it will be a season of slight personal redemption for him. Can he as a captain take the Mumbai Indians to their former glory? Of course, there will be acceptance this time, but I think the biggest opportunity lies with Hardik Pandya,” Chopra said.
MI retained Pandya for INR 16.35 crore along with four other stars while also making wise investments in the auction. However, they will be without the services of Jasprit Bumrah for an unknown period of time as he recovers from a stress-related injury.
MI will begin their campaign against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings on March 23 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
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