Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has given MI fans a heartfelt message ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025.
Last season in the IPL, things did not go well for Pandya. He returned to MI after spending two seasons with Gujarat Titans (2022-23).
Pandya replaced Rohit Shamra as the captain of the team. The change was not supported by the fans in Mumbai as they were connected with Rohit, who led MI to win five IPLs as a captain, to the core.
As a result, he was abused by the fans at Wankhede Stadium in 2024. This made his confidence low, and MI not doing great led to even burning fire.
However, the star all-arounder did play a crucial role in the T20 World Cup final last year against South Africa and became a real-life hero for cricket fans in India.
Then playing a good role in leading India to the Champions Trophy in 2025 early this month (March 2025) has changed the mindset of the MI fans.
However, Pandya is facing a one-match ban due to a slow-over rate against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2024. It was the last match of MI’s campaign for the 2024 season.
As a result, Suryakumar Yadav will lead MI against CSK away from home on Sunday.
Thus, Pandya will return as the captain of MI in the following game against Gujarat Titans on March 29.
Before the season, Pandya wants the MI fans to cheer them with open arms.
He said: “Just cheer when I arrive to bat, cheer when I hit a six, cheer when I take a wicket and cheer at the toss too. This time, there shouldn’t be any other colour at the stadium. Especially the chants and the colours. That’s my only wish for them.”
Unline the 2024 IPL, all things are indicating towards a better relationship between Pandya and Mumbai Indians.
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