Former Indian cricketer and head coach of Gujarat Titans, Ashish Nehra has made a blunt statement ahead of the upcoming 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League. Nehra mentioned that he never tried to convince Hardik Pandya to stay with Gujarat Titans instead of returning to his former team — Mumbai Indians.
The IPL 2024 auction saw a shocking move as Mumbai Indians traded Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans for INR 15 crore. The decision caught many off guard and raised several eyebrows because Pandya had moved to Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2022 and was given the captaincy. More shockingly, Mumbai Indians’ legendary captain Rohit Sharma, who led the team to win title wins, was replaced from the captaincy position.
Hardik Pandya was made the captain of Mumbai Indians after impressing everyone with his captaincy for Gujarat Titans. During his time with GT, Pandya excelled as a leader as he guided his team to a title win in their debut season. He also made a comeback as an all-rounder, contributing significantly with both the bat and the ball, scoring over 400 runs and picking wickets consistently.
Hardik continued with his impressive performance in the next season as well by taking Gujarat Titans to the final of IPL 2023 Many had anticipated that Pandya would continue leading the team in the next season as well. However, that wasn’t the case, as his move to Mumbai Indians turned out to be the biggest trade in IPL history.
Ashish Nehra Fires Shots At Hardik Pandya Ahead Of IPL 2024
Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra for the first time opened up about the transition. He mentioned that with the way sports are evolving, we can expect more transfers like these in the future. Speaking to PTI, he stated:
“I never tried to convince Hardik to stay back. The way this sport is moving, we will see more such transfers like it happens in soccer’s international club market.”
