All-rounder Hardik Pandya on Monday took a trip down memory lane as he completed six "extraordinary" years with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his debut for Mumbai Indians on this day in 2015 and since then the all-rounder has established himself as one of the key members of the side.
Hardik thanked the management, staff, teammates, and fans for the love and support and posted a video cherishing some good moments of his with Mumbai Indians. "A walk down memory lane and looking back at 6 extraordinary years with a team so close to my heart @mipaltan To the management, staff, teammates, and fans who've been with me on this journey, thank you from the bottom of my heart," Hardik tweeted.
In his debut match, Hardik had scored 16 runs off six balls as Mumbai Indians defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 18 runs. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene revealed Hardik picked up a niggle during the ODI series between India and England and that has kept the all-rounder away from bowling in the ongoing IPL.
Hardik has in recent times stuck to playing as a finisher both in the national team and Mumbai Indians. Jayawardene wants Hardik to recover fully from the niggle before taking on the batsmen with a ball in hand.
"We were looking forward to him bowling this season as he didn't bowl in last year's IPL after coming from an injury and he wasn't ready. In his last ODI match against England, I believe Hardik picked up a niggle so we don't want to risk an injury," Jayawardene explained.
"We want to be sure that he is comfortable in bowling so hopefully in the next few weeks with a bit of work and all that you might see him bowling, we would love to see him bowling but as soon as the niggle goes off and he is comfortable in bowling we could utilize that asset as well," he added.
Read More: Odisha govt forms expert teams to monitor functioning of COVID-19 care facilities
