India star Hardik Pandya has expressed his excitement over returning to Mumbai Indians ahead of the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The allrounder sealed a move to his first IPL team in a dramatic fashion as Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans gave the deal a go ahead after the transfer deadline was closed.
As the window closed, Gujarat Titans announced that they had retained their former captain before the final drama unfolded. Mumbai Indians traded allrounder Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore in an all-cash deal before sealing a move for Hardik Pandya to leave the cricketing fraternity shell shocked.
With the entire saga now coming to an end, Hardik Pandya is all set to start a new journey in his IPL career. After enjoying two highly successful seasons with Gujarat Titans, he is back in the team where it all began. The India allrounder began his IPL journey with Mumbai Indians in 2015 and spent seven seasons with them before being released.
Hardik Pandya excited to join Mumbai Indians:
In seven seasons with Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya won an impressive four IPL titles. He will now be hoping that his second stint with the franchise turns out to be as successful. And after returning to the franchise, he has expressed his excitement, saying that the return back to Mumbai Indians is very special.
“Rohit, Bumrah, Surya, Ishan, Polly, Malinga. Come on, let’s begin. Obviously the feel of coming back to Mumbai is very special for a lot of reasons. How my cricketing journey started in 2015 with MI, them noticing me in 2013. You know when I look back and how my span of 10 years has been something very special,” said Hardik Pandya.
“It has not sunk in yet that finally I’m back where my whole cricketing journey started. I have achieved all the possible things. They have been the most important part of my life. Special bond with Akash (Ambani) and the whole family. They’ve been with my through thick and thin and it’s much more emotional because it feels like I am coming back home, and my family where it all started,” he added.
Watch 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐤 talk about his happy homecoming, teaming up with his 𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 and resuming his journey with #MumbaiIndians 💙#OneFamily #MumbaiMeriJaan @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/sm6dXGJYCI
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 27, 2023
In two seasons with Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya led them to title in the very first season in 2022. Earlier this year, he led the team to the final where it lost the title-decider against Chennai Super Kings.
