"Glad to be back doing what I love"- Hardik Pandya after playing his first competitive match after 2023 World Cup

Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya returned to action on Monday (February 26), playing his first competitive match after the 2023 ODI World Cup. He has been on the sidelines since suffering an injury during the match against Bangladesh in the mega tournament last year.

Pandya has been working hard in rehabilitation over the past few weeks and also played a few practice games at the NCA. After getting clearance, Hardik Pandya has turned up to lead the Reliance 1 team against the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited side in the DY Patil T20 Cup in Navi Mumbai on Monday (February 26).

MI players Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Akash Madhwal, and Piyush Chawla were also part of the Reliance 1 playing XI in the match. Pandya bowled with the new ball and ended with figures of 2/22 in his three-over spell. He then came out to bat at number 10 position and finished the chase with 3* (4) as Reliance 1 won the match by two wickets.

After the conclusion of the match, Hardik Pandya took to his official X handle and expressed his delight in returning to the field after a gap. He wrote:

"Glad to be back doing what I love."

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"If he can help the team focus collectively, they can win"- Akash Chopra on MI captain Hardik Pandya

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra recently analyzed the challenges for the newly appointed Mumbai Indians captain, Hardik Pandya, ahead of IPL 2024. Chopra opined that Pandya's leadership skills will decide the fortunes of MI this season. Speaking to Jio Cinema, he said:

"From the team perspective, Hardik has been given everything he would have wanted. But his biggest challenge will be to pull the team together in one direction and help them perform collectively. Without that, the trophy can’t be won. MI’s season will depend on Pandya’s leadership skills. If he can help the team focus collectively, they can win.

Chopra continued:

"It’s not easy to bring back the trophy. But if you look at the Mumbai squad, they should bring it back. If you look at their Indian players, there are only one-two players who are not capped. Most of them are India players and have performed. Their overseas players provide them plenty of options."

Do you agree with Aakash Chopra's views above? Let us know in the comments section below.