[Watch]"Let's get down to business" - Hardik Pandya 'reliving the good old days' back at MI ahead of IPL 2024
Mumbai Indians (MI) newly appointed skipper Hardik Pandya has joined the team camp ahead of the IPL 2024 season. The star all-rounder was brought back to MI from the Gujarat Titans (GT) in a high-profile trade and has also been named as the heir to Rohit Sharma.
Hardik took to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday to post a video and a few snippets of his first day back at the team camp with MI. In the video, he was seen giving fast bowling coach and former teammate Lasith Malinga a warm hug.
The all-rounder also posted snaps of his bowling, batting as well as participating in the fielding drills. Here's what Hardik Pandya captioned the post with expressing his emotions on his return to Mumbai Indians:
"Day 1. So many emotions, so many memories. Seeing old friends and reliving the good old days. Excited for what's ahead with this wonderful team. Let's get down to business 💙 @mipaltan."
Hardik has an excellent track record as captain as he led the Gujarat Titans to back-to-back finals in his two seasons with the club, also winning the title in IPL 2022. It will be interesting to see how the all-rounder works with the star-studded squad at the Mumbai Indians.
Brad Hogg feels GT are better off without Hardik Pandya
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg recently commented on Hardik Pandya's trade from GT to MI. While the Titans lost their leader, Hogg reckons they could easily cover for the attributes that Hardik brought to the table as an all-rounder.
Here's what he opined:
"I don't think Hardik Pandya is that big a loss really (for GT). Yes, he is a quality all-rounder in the middle order but they can cover it. They have got really good bowling depth there. He was batting in the top order but I don't think he was best suited there so Gujarat Titans are better off without him."
Hogg claimed that Hardik should be batting in the lower middle order and could do just that alongside Tim David at MI. This could bring the best out of the MI skipper, according to the former cricketer. Coincidentally, Mumbai play the first game of their season against Hardik's former team GT in Ahmedabad on March 24.