Former Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya met and hugged his ex-teammates at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday ahead of the GT vs MI clash in IPL 2024.
In an interesting scheduling by the IPL, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans’ first match of this season will be against each other, that too in Ahmedabad where the reception Hardik Pandya would get is what everyone is waiting to see.
Hardik led GT brilliantly in the last two seasons, finishing with one IPL trophy and one runner-up trophy. However, the Baroda all-rounder returned to MI, where he spent 7 seasons from 2015 to 2021. Not only did Hardik Pandya return to MI in the trade window, the all-rounder was also propelled to the position of captaincy, replacing five-time IPL-winning skipper Rohit Sharma. Fans on social media have expressed mixed reactions to this saga.
On Friday, the Gujarat Titans uploaded a video of Hardik meeting the Gujarat Titans players. Pandya shared a warm hug with Shubman Gill, who is the new GT skipper. He had an emotional moment with Rahul Tewatia, whom Pandya had backed in his stint as GT captain.
Watch: Hardik Pandya hugs Shubman Gill and GT players
GT-MI-laap ✅#AavaDe | #GTKarshe | #TATAIPL2024 pic.twitter.com/2dJbQxvXQw
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) March 22, 2024
This is how the fans reacted to this video:
Pandya had spent seven seasons at Mumbai and built his career under Rohit Sharma. However, after being released ahead of IPL 2022 mega-auction, GT roped him in and made him their captain. Pandya exceeded all expectations to take GT to consecutive finals, topping the league stage twice.
He is now back with MI, where it all started for him in the IPL.
Pandya posted on social media “In my 10th IPL season, grateful for the journey, for the growth, for everything that’s come my way. And to be back with a team that’s always been in my heart.”
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