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Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has dominated the IPL off-season headlines, especially over the past month.
After returning to his first franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI), in an all-cash trade from Gujarat Titans (GT), the 30-year-old has also been named the side's captain for the upcoming IPL season. He will replace five-time title-winning skipper Rohit Sharma at the helm.
In a conversation with Jio Cinema during the 2023 IPL season while leading GT, Hardik spoke about the success methods of the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. While applauding MI for getting the best players possible, he was more inspired by CSK's ability to create a suitable environment for enhancing each player's output.
"There are two kind of success you can get. One is get the bestest people possible from A to B which I feel MI had, those few years where we’ve won or have the best environment possible for you to win which has been a CSK type where no matters who players are they get the best out of them. That was more inspiring for me to not get the best players but to get the best environment and get this thing," said Hardik earlier this year.
Here is a video of the same:
Unfortunately for Hardik, GT suffered a last-ball defeat to CSK in the 2023 IPL final a few days later to barely miss out on defending their title from 2022.
MI and CSK have been the benchmark franchises of the lucrative T20 League, winning five titles each. While MI emerged victorious in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, CSK triumphed in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023.
Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to IPL glory in their maiden season
While Hardik Pandya's taking-over from Rohit Sharma as MI skipper has caused a massive uproar, he comes into the position on the back of resounding success with GT in 2022 and 2023.
The Titans were written off by most pundits and fans before the start of the tournament in 2022. Yet, Hardik Pandya defied all odds by leading the side to the top of the points table with ten wins and four losses in 14 games. They then defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the first qualifier and the grand finale to clinch the IPL title in a stunning debut season.
It was much of the same again this year, with GT finishing on top of the table with the same win-loss record. However, the path during the playoffs was vastly different, with the side losing the first qualifier to CSK and then winning Qualifier 2 against MI to reach the final.
However, they were not blessed with a similar ending on this occasion, falling agonizingly short in a thrilling finish. Nevertheless, Hardik's two-year stint as the GT skipper was a humongous success, and he will look to lead MI to their first title since 2020 in the upcoming IPL season.
