Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan believes that Hardik Pandya won’t be under much pressure in the ongoing edition of the IPL 2025. Explaining the reason, Pathan mentioned that Pandya will have plenty of confidence this season but two ICC trophies in the last one year.
Hardik Pandya was subjected to immense criticism in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He replaced Rohit Sharma as captain of Mumbai Indians, which infuriated the fans, as the all-rounder was welcomed with loud boos and racial slurs among many other things. It affected him and the dressing room environment as Mumbai finished at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2024.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan believes that Pandya won’t be under much pressure in the ongoing season. Explaining the reason, he mentioned that it will be Pandya’s second season at Mumbai and noted that the all-rounder has won the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy in the last one year and believes that the cricketer will carry that confidence in the cash-rich tournament.
“There is not that much pressure on the captain because it is his second season for Mumbai. The kind of confidence that Hardik Pandya has shown in the past year, won the T20 World Cup and then performed well in the ICC Champions Trophy, he will bring that confidence here. All the leaders will rally behind Mumbai and Hardik, and that is going to be a big aspect,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Mumbai meanwhile lost their opening game of the season against Chennai Super Kings at MA Chidambaram Stadium. Pandya missed the game as he was suspended for a slow-over rate in IPL 2024. Next up, Mumbai will play Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 29.
Mumbai Indians squad: Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Ryan Rickelton,Robin Minz(w), Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Reece Topley, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Krishnan Shrijith, Karn Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacobs, Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju, Vignesh Puthur
