Hardik penalised for over-rate offence; Boucher concedes outside noise clouded Pandya
However, in the scenario of Hardik being purchased by some other franchise in next year’s IPL mega auction, he will miss that particular team’s first game.
Downplaying the buzz around Hardik Pandya’s move from the Gujarat Titans to his original franchise Mumbai Indians, star pacer Mohammed Shami maintained that such things are part and parcel of sport.
Pandya, who led the Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their inaugural season in 2021, and also finished as the second best side the following year, was traded off to Mumbai in an all-cash deal, a couple of months back.
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A few days after the transfer, MI had surprised everyone by appointing Pandya as captain, claiming that the move was a tactical move to keep them “future ready”. On the other hand, the Titans named Shubman Gill as the skipper for the upcoming season of the league.
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MI’s decision to replace long-serving captain Rohit Sharma, who led the side to five IPL titles since 2013, also seemed to hurt a few individuals in the franchise with captaincy ambitions.
But for Shami, who plies his trade for the Titans, Pandya’s move was just one of those things that happens in sport.
“Kisike jane se kisiko farak nahi padta (It doesn’t matter to anyone if anyone else is leaving the team). You have to look at the team’s balance. When 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 has been 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,” Shami told a new channel recently in an interview.
“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.
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