Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya will be going up against his former IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) when the two teams clash in the ongoing IPL 2022 on May 6 at the Brabourne Stadium.
Hardik Pandya spent 7 seasons with Mumbai Indians during which the team won 4 titles as the all-rounder scored 1476 runs and picked up 42 wickets for them. He was an integral member of the Rohit Sharma-led winning machine.
However, Pandya was not retained by MI ahead of the mega auction and GT pounced on him drafting him in their side and making him the captain of the franchise as well.
However, when these two teams meet in Brabourne, things are a lot different as no.1 ranked on the points table, Gujarat are a win away from potentially confirming their berth in the IPL 2022 playoffs. On the other hand, MI are all but out of playoff contention after managing just 1 win in 9 matches.
Speaking in the lead-up to the big clash, Hardik recalled some of his fond memories with Mumbai Indians, saying the knock against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk in 2015 gave him a glimpse of popularity and fame.
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"I have always seen myself in blue and gold but I am also in blue and gold with my home state, which is something even more special. I kind of got my first glimpse of success in that game (against CSK) where I scored 3 sixes when we needed 32 or something off 2 overs. A lot of memories are there, all my memories have been made with that team," Hardik said in a video shared by Gujarat Titans.
He also revealed that he has a conversation with MI all-rounder Kieron Pollard and jokingly said that he might end up playing for GT in IPL 2023.
"I wish Polly (Pollard) has the best day for him but I hope we win. I messaged Polly a few days ago and said 'hope you are okay, hope you are enjoying it'. I said we kind of missed him here. In a joking way, I said 'you never know. you might come to us next year'. It's my wish but I know it's never going to happen," he said.
Here is the video:
Hardik and Pollard have been great mates on and off the field, having called the West Indies star 'brother from another mother' in the past
