Mumbai Indians’ (MI) fans were quite annoyed when the management & owners announced Hardik Pandya as the leader for the upcoming IPL 2024 edition. Rohit Sharma wasn’t at his best in the last couple of seasons but we all witnessed how he almost won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 for India. At the same time, Hardik Pandya is quite injury prone which may backfire.
MI have brought back Lasith Malinga as the bowling coach as he is someone who knows the dynamics of the franchise. MI will have to play out of their skin to win the tournament as these time all the 10 teams are evenly matched. It won’t be wrong to say that MI are slow starters as the history is evident where they take time to peak which is their major problem.
You don’t play for your state in domestic cricket and just directly play in the IPL- Praveen Kumar’s massive statement on Hardik Pandya
Praveen Kumar was having an interaction with media and was quite furious on Hardik Pandya. Praveen Kumar pointed out that Hardik should have played for his state team rather than directly playing for the IPL franchise. Praveen Kumar also stated that there’s nothing wrong in earning money but first priority should be given for state & country.
“You get injured two months before the IPL, you don’t play for the country, you don’t play for your state in domestic cricket, and just directly play in the IPL. That’s not how things should be done. It’s okay to earn money, there’s nothing wrong with that. But you have to play for state and country and now people only give importance to the IPL,” said Praveen Kumar.
Steep Challenge for Hardik Pandya
It would be interesting to see how Hardik Pandya fares as according to sources with knowledge, it is believed that there are clashes in the MI’s dressing room. Rohit Sharma would be aiming to make a statement that he is not done yet in the shortest format as the IPL 2024 edition is considered to be the stepping stone for ICC T20 WC 2024.
Hardik will have to follow a particular gameplan as earlier in Gujarat Titans (GT), he along with head coach Ashish Nehra used to formulate strategies but in MI there’s a complete different situation where the management along with the owners decide the playing 11 for a particular match.
Also Read: IPL 2024 : Praveen Kumar Speaks About Magnificent Rohit Sharma’s Captaincy Prior To IPL 2024