New Delhi: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan recently shared an interesting anecdote about how star all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s Indian Premier League (IPL) career could have ended up on a different trajectory. Pathan revealed Hardik could have joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) instead of the Mumbai Indians (MI) had VVS Laxman listened to his advice.
Pathan suggested Hardik to Laxman in 2013 and asked his former India teammate to sign the all-rounder for SRH. However, Laxman, who served as SRH’s mentor from 2013 to 2021, didn’t pay heed to his advice. Pathan revealed Laxman still regrets the decision of not going for Hardik in the IPL auction when he was young and an unproven commodity.
Hardik went unsold in the IPL 2014 mega auction before getting picked by the Mumbai Indians at his base price of Rs 10 lakh in 2015. He quickly established his credentials as one of the best all-rounders in the league for MI and played a key role in their success. Hardik won 4 IPL titles with MI before leaving the franchise to join the Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2022.
He led the Gujarat Titans to a memorable title triumph in their debut season in 2022 and their second successive final in IPL 2023. Hardik returned to the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 and has since been leading the five-time champions. However, the all-rounder’s IPL career could have panned out differently had he joined SRH as a youngster.
“There’s no rivalry between me and Hardik Pandya. There’s nothing as such. No player from Baroda who went to the top can say that Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan didn’t support them at any specific time. Even VVS Laxman said that I regret that I didn’t listen to Irfan in 2012. If I had listened, then Hardik would’ve played for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Laxman said that,” Pathan revealed in an interview with Lallantop, addressing a question about his alleged differences with Hardik.
Hardik Pandya’s IPL career
Hardik made his debut for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2015 and played 9 matches for the franchise, scoring 112 runs and taking a solitary wicket. He soon became the talk of the town owing to his all-round skills and was fast-tracked into the Indian team in 2016. Hardik played a key role in Mumbai Indians’ IPL title victories in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
He was appointed as the Gujarat Titans captain in IPL 2022 after leaving MI and led them to their maiden title in their debut season. Hardik smashed 487 runs in the season to play an instrumental role in GT’s title triumph. He followed it up with 346 runs in IPL 2023 as GT reached their second successive final.
Hardik returned to MI in IPL 2024 and has been leading the franchise ever since. He scored 224 runs and picked up an impressive 14 wickets in IPL 2025 to help the Mumbai Indians qualify for the playoffs. However, they failed to go the distance. One of the biggest names in the IPL, Hardik has so far amassed 2749 runs and picked up 78 wickets in 152 matches in his IPL career.