The allrounder’s stocks are high after winning key moments in the 2024 T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy triumphs
Mumbai: Leading an IPL side is challenging enough, but Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya has plenty more on his plate. He must guard the five-time champions against another poor start, get the seniors to fully commit to his leadership and earn the respect of talisman Jasprit Bumrah. He must also find the best combination after the mega auction, and win over MI fans who last season booed him for replacing the popular Rohit Sharma as skipper.
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya during a press conference ahead of IPL 2025 in Mumbai on Wednesday. (PTI)
The 2024 IPL proved to the toughest for the allrounder. Hardik faced the ire of the fans at every MI game. He looked rattled by the series of defeats as MI became the first team to be eliminated, eventually finishing at the bottom of the 10-team table.
As MI begin a new campaign looking to end their recent barren run, winning over the Wankhede faithful will be crucial to his team’s chances.
However, there are many reasons for Hardik to be positive going into the season. He has been a hero in India colours since the 2024 IPL ended. He first helped India turn things around from a tough situation in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados. When Hardik and Bumrah came on to bowl, the match looked lost — SA needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand.
The moment he won over even his harshest critics must be when he dismissed Heinrich Klaasen in the 17th over of the chase. Klaasen’s belligerent 52 off 27 balls had almost prised the game out of India’s hands and his fall was a telling blow for SA.
A touching image during the celebrations was Rohit planting a kiss on Pandya’s cheek in the middle of his TV interview. The Mumbai crowd too warmed up to him during the victory parade.
Hardik built on that success with bat and ball in helping India win the Champions Trophy recently. India’s successful plan to play four spinners on the slow Dubai pitches was due to the success of Hardik as a new ball bowler. That allowed India to play one seamer less and an extra spinner.
So, how much would achievements in the last 10 months help him settle down early this IPL?
“Massive,” said Hardik in his pre-season media interaction. “Playing for India has always been a matter of pride. It has been the No.1 priority and winning two ICC trophies is something that is very close to our hearts (all India players of MI). There is lot of joy. So, I think that joy (we) will carry forward into IPL as well. We will look forward to taking up this challenge as well where MI has not won for four years. So, the challenge and the excitement is we can go for it with joy, and at the same time togetherness. That’s what exactly we are communicating.”
MI’s core group is still the same with three India captains – Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav and Bumrah. Last season, experts pointed to a lack of communication at times within the group. It affected the team morale. In the build-up to this IPL the talking point has been a warmth and camaraderie seen in the MI ads featuring Hardik, Rohit and Suryakumar. It is a message for the fans that the leadership group is bonding well.
Pandya said: “I’m lucky that I have three captains who are playing with me. It adds more and more experience for me that if I require help, I know there are three different minds who have led India for different formats. With so many years of experience, they can be always there, put an arm around me and always be there for me.”
To get the team to gel, MI has brought back Mahela Jayawardene as head coach in place of South Africa’s Mark Boucher. MI won the last IPL title in 2020 when the former Sri Lanka captain was coach. Jayawardena commands respect among the senior players, having coached the side to three IPL titles (2017, 2019 and 2020).
The importance of the home crowd’s backing isn’t lost on anyone because MI will play half their matches at the Wankhede. Pandya will sit out the opening game against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk on Sunday, serving a suspension carried over from last season for slow over-rate. Surya, the India T20 skipper, will lead in the game. Hardik will be in charge for MI’s first home game on March 31.
Pandya simply can’t afford to have another underwhelming season. After last year’s low, how can he re-energise and hit reset the button for IPL? “Just play good cricket, have lots of smiles around, being with each other at the same point of time, doing our processes right,” Hardik said.
More than individual efforts, it will be results that will matter. If MI start winning, everything will change.
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