[Watch] "Back with the team that's always been in my heart" - MI skipper Hardik Pandya shares emotional video ahead of his 10th IPL season

Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya will be featuring in his 10th IPL season and will be back to representing the franchise that formed the base of his success as a professional cricketer.

After playing seven seasons for MI, Hardik went to the Gujarat Titans (GT) as their skipper and made it to back-to-back IPL finals, even winning the competition in 2022. However, he is back with Mumbai after an all-cash trade and is delighted to be marking his 10th year in the league playing for his beloved team.

Hardik Pandya took to Instagram to post a video of his early days at MI and then transitioned it with snippets of his training sessions ahead of IPL 2024.

Here's what he captioned the video with:

"In my 10th IPL season. Grateful for the journey, for the growth, for everything that has come my way. And to be back with the team that's always been in my heart"

Here's the video:

Hardik has been pretty vocal in the pre-season press conference about how he wants to have a team culture that will promote 'brotherhood' among the players and follow a process that will help Mumbai to be more successful.

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IPL has given me my identity: Hardik Pandya

In the video, Hardik Pandya is also seen talking during a gym session about how getting an opportunity to play in the IPL turned around his fortunes. He is grateful for having received a chance to showcase his skills in the blockbuster league.

On this, Hardik stated:

"IPL gave me everything. IPL has given me my identity. Otherwise I would be still in Baroda where I am. But not this Hardik, some other Hardik would have been there (laughs)."

Hardik could face a stern test in his first assignment as the MI skipper as they face his former side, the Gujarat Titans, in Ahmedabad on Sunday.