IPL 2024: The maiden title holds a special place in memory - Hardik Pandya reflects on first stint with MI
IPL 2024: The maiden title holds a special place in memory - Hardik Pandya reflects on first stint with MI
The Indian Premier League (IPL) season is all set to kick off on March 22 as franchises flex their muscle to conquer the crown in the country’s biggest franchise league. One of the prime candidates to win the IPL 2024 title will be five-time champions Mumbai Indians who will be under new leadership from the upcoming campaign. Hardik Pandya, who will resume his second stint with the Mumbai-based side, reflected on his journey and called the 2015 season as his best having won the title that year.
Hardik on 2015 IPL
“The first title holds a special place in my memory as it (2015) was the best year of my career. My two best performances came in the knockout stage of the season’s IPL, so It goes down as a memorable moment for me,” Hardik said while speaking in a programme in Mumbai.
Pandya, who returned to Mumbai on the deadline day of the trade window in November, will take over from Rohit Sharma, who successfully led the franchise to five IPL titles during his stint as the skipper of the side. He now joins the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Ricky Ponting to lead the record IPL champions.
The announcement on December 15 came as a big surprise for the cricket fraternity after Rohit decided to step down from his role as captain.Pandya, having led Gujarat Titans (GT) in the previous two seasons, will now look to help his new team, Mumbai Indians, clinch the title.
Interestingly, Pandya's first year with GT saw him lead them to glory after beating Rajasthan Royals in the final of the 2022 tournament. Pandya also acts as deputy to Rohit in the Indian cricket team but is currently nursing an injury.
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Rohit’s stint as captain
Rohit took over the captaincyin 2013 from Ricky Ponting in the middle of the season and led the team to their first IPL title. He then led Mumbai to victories in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 during which Pandya was part of the side. Rohit went on to become the most successful captain in the history of the tournament. Later, MS Dhoni in 2023 helped his team Chennai Super Kings bag the title for the fifth time and joined Rohit Sharma to achieve the feat of most titles.
