GT vs MI: Hardik Pandya Would Want To Do Well Against Mumbai Indians But Won't Be Like David Warner Against SRH - Sunil Gavaskar

Former India player Sunil Gavaskar said Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya won’t have much differences with Mumbai Indians like David Warner has with Sunrisers Hyderabad.

As IPL 2022 table-toppers Gujarat Titans are gearing up to face the Rohit Sharma-led team, this would be the first instance of Hardik playing against his former franchise.

Hardik Pandya to play the first game against Mumbai Indians

The Indian all-rounder scored 1476 runs from 85 innings and claimed 42 scalps and also won four titles in his long stint with the five-time IPL champions since joining them in IPL 2015.

During the IPL 2022 players’ retention list, Mumbai Indians released Hardik along with his brother Krunal Pandya as they retained Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Hardik was appointed captain of the Gujarat Titans, one of the two new IPL teams this season.

On Thursday, Delhi Capitals opener David Warner scored an unbeaten 92 against former team Sunrisers Hyderabad, including 12 fours and three sixes, striking over 150.

It was the former SRH skipper’s first game since his unceremonious exit from the franchise last year.

Hardik Pandya would want to do his best against Mumbai Indians: Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar mentioned that Hardik would want to perform well against Mumbai Indians but won’t have any grudges against them, unlike Warner.

“Obviously he would want to do his best against the team. But he also owes so much to the Mumbai Indians. MI were the first to have him the break when he really wasn’t known outside Baroda,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports. 

“He would want to do well because he wasn’t retained, but each team could only retain 3 or 4 players. And MI took the right decision by retaining the players they did. And they were also probably hoping they would buy him back, but that didn’t work out.

“But it surely won’t be like what we saw today with Warner against SRH. What happened last year (with Warner) wasn’t a pleasant one which we all saw, but it will not be the same for Hardik,” he added.

Gujarat Titans will take on Mumbai Indians on Friday (May 6) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Also Read: GT vs MI: Whether You Score At Strike Rate Of 120 Or 150, Just Score Runs – Virender Sehwag’s Advice To Shubman Gill