IPL 2024: Mohammed Shami's Big Take On Hardik Pandya Leaving Gujarat Titans And Rejoining Mumbai Indians

The stage is all set for another enthralling edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024), in which, talented players from around the world will showcase their class and skill to entertain cricket fans. This edition will see many big changes including Mitchell Starc heading to KKR, Pat Cummins going to Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Daryl Mitchell joining Chennai Super Kings and others. But above all, Hardik Pandy's return to Mumbai Indians made the headlines. MI owners bought Pandya in a gobsmacking Rs 15 crore traded from Gujarat Titans. This will be al-rounders second stint with the Mumbai franchise.

The departure of Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to a title win and an appearance in the finals in 2022 and 2023, will surely make a big difference, but his former Gujarat mates don't think the same.

In an interview with News 24, Speedster Mohammed Shami said it is a part of the game, players come and go. "Kisike jane se kisi ke farak nahi padta (See, it doesn't matter who is leaving). You have to see the team's balance. Hardik was there, he captained us well. He took us to the final in both editions and we won once. But Gujarat hadn't signed Hardik for a lifetime. It's his decision to stay or leave. Shubman is made captain now, he will also gain experience. Some day, he might also leave. And it's a part of the game. Players come and go," Pandya said.

"When you become captain, it's important to handle the responsibility while taking care of your performances. And that responsibility has been assigned to Shubman this time. He might have some load in his mind, but the players are more or less the same. So he doesn't need to worry. You need to manage players well and extract the best out of your players," he added.

Hardik Pandya made his IPL debut in 2015 with Mumbai Indians under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, after which, he moved to other teams. In 123 IPL appearances, Hardik Pandya notched 2309 runs at an average of 30.38 runs.