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Cricket Players‘He was in shock when Mumbai Indians didn’t retain him ahead of IPL 2022': Ravi Shastri on India star
MI retained captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav among three Indians and went ahead with Kieron Pollard as their overseas option. Hardik, his brother Krunal and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan were let go.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri talked about Hardik Pandya's feelings when he was not retained ahead by Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction. Shastri said Hardik was "shocked" as he had expected MI to hold him after the kind of performances he had put in ever since his IPL debut for the five-time champions in IPL 2015. MI retained captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav among three Indians and went ahead with Kieron Pollard as their overseas option. Hardik, his brother Krunal and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan were let go.
"It shocked him when he was not retained by Mumbai Indians," Shastri said on commentary during India vs England second ODI at Lord's.
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The all-rounder was roped in as a draft pick by new entrants Gujarat Titans and was named captain. Hardik did a splendid job for GT, leading them to their maiden IPL title on the first attempt. He was their top run-scorer with 487 runs - the most he has scored in an IPL season - in 15 matches. With the ball too, he made a roaring comeback, picking up eight wickets. In the final against Rajasthan Royals, he claimed three important wickets that broke the backbone of RR's batting unit.
"It was tough... MI had Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharna, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya so they had to pick three out of those five. Ishan Kishan was obviously picked in the auction," Shastri said.
Hardik was one of MI's brightest stars in the seven seasons that he represented the IPL's most successful franchise. The all-rounder played 92 matches, scoring more than 1500 runs at a strike rate of nearly 150.
Shastri added that Hardik thrives under pressure and when given added responsibility, he performs even better.
"He was picked by Gujarat Titans, where he was given the extra responsibility of captaining, which did him a world of good. When given responsibility, he's a completely different cricket as opposed to just batting and fielding," he added.
