Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya is one of the highest earners in IPL’s history and he has always been a top player since his debut in 2015. Pandya kicked off his IPL career with MI in 2015 and he was capped in T20Is before his next IPL season.
While Pandya has enjoyed huge success with MI, his IPL career would have been totally different had VVS Laxman listened to , Pandya’s format teammate. The former India all-rounder has revealed an interesting Hardik story that could have changed his IPL career.
Speaking to Lallantop, Pathan revealed that he adviced Laxman to sign Hardik. He went unsold in the IPL 2014 mega-auction. MI signed Hardik at his base price of Rs 10 lakh in the IPL 2015 mini-auction.
“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. Laxman was part of SRH’s coaching staff from IPL 2013 to 2021.
Hardik’s memorable IPL season
Hardik became the talk of the town- during his maiden IPL season and he continued his form in domestic cricket. He earned his maiden India call-up for the T20I series against Australia early in 2016. He made his ODI debut in October that year. Hardik is capped in all three formats. Hardik stayed with MI till 2021.
Hardik’s return to MI
Gujarat Titans (GT) signed Hardik before the IPL 2022 mega-auction and bestowed him with captaincy. Hardik-led GT won the IPL 2022 season. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023 final.
Hardik made a shocking return to MI via trade before IPL 2024 as their captain. He continues to lead the five-time Champions in the T20 league. Hardik is the former vice-captain of India’s white-ball teams.