Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya will be at his best during the upcoming IPL 2025 tournament. Hardik Pandya will miss MI’s opening match of the season against CSK in Chennai, after his one-match ban from previous IPL carried over.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh says the all-rounder's trust in his ability to achieve things distinguishes him from others. IPL 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal tournament for Pandya, the IPL 2022 winning skipper who had a phenomenal season in every way.
The decision by MI management to designate him captain in place of Rohit Sharma after joining from the Gujarat Titans resulted in the audience criticizing the all-rounder during the first half of the IPL 2024, despite the fact that the five-time champions placed bottom in the points table.
“He was always a very confident player from day one of joining the team in 2015. He was also a very positive guy with ‘yes I can do this' attitude. Since then, his positive instinct has been better than before. He has more belief in himself now that I can do these things and he's done it. So, that's one of his biggest strengths which differentiates himself from others. Now he has got the experience of playing almost 10 years now – not just the IPL, but also a lot of international cricket,” Harbhajan Singh said on JioStar.
Harbhajan had watched a young Pandya come in as a rookie in the star-studded MI set-up and succeed in the 2015 IPL, and he believes the all-rounder still has the confidence and positivity from that time to emerge stronger as the side's leader in the 2017 tournament, which begins on Saturday.
“It's good to see the way he progressed himself for Mumbai Indians over the years, and then he was leading GT for 2 years, where he was brilliant there as well. Yes, last year wasn't that great for him since he was coming back to Mumbai Indians.
But I think he has left everything behind, as after that, a lot of good things have happened – like he played a major role for Team India to lift two ICC trophies. So, I think that this year Hardik Pandya will be at his best when we talk about his captainship or skillsets wise. When you are at peace, you are happy, enjoying yourself and kind of getting the best out of the other players,” Harbhajan Singh added.
“So, hopefully, we will see the best of Hardik Pandya this year, because it seems like whatever wrong has happened last year is gone and this year will be a fresh start. I am hoping for him and his team to fire at the right time,” concluded Harbhajan.
(IANS inputs)
