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A video has gone viral on social media in which new Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya is seen receiving a grand welcome during a visit to Reliance Industries in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The Mumbai Indians franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is owned by Reliance Industries, through its 100 percent subsidiary Indiawin Sports.
Mumbai Indians traded all-rounder Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT) last month amid much confusion over the deal. However, once everything was official MI went ahead and named the cricketer as their captain for the IPL 2024 season, replacing Rohit Sharma, a decision which did not go down well with many Mumbai and Rohit fans.
A video is now going viral on social media in which Pandya is seen getting a grand welcome with horses and band music on his arrival in Jamnagar. According to an X user Kirpal Sinh, who uploaded the viral clip, the video is from December 19.
Pandya led Gujarat Titans to victory in their maiden IPL season in 2022. They finished runners-up in 2023, going down to an inspired Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a pulsating final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The 30-year-old represented Mumbai Indians from 2015 to 2021 before being released ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Pandya has played 92 matches for MI, scoring 1476 runs at an average of 27.33 and a strike rate of 153.91. With his pace bowling, he has picked up 42 wickets at an average of 31.26 and an economy rate of 9.06.
Will Hardik Pandya be available for IPL 2024?
Even as Mumbai Indians have named Pandya as their captain for the IPL 2024 season, there have been contrasting reports about his availability for the upcoming edition of the T20 league.
As per a report in news agency PTI, Pandya is likely to miss out on the Afghanistan T20I series at home in January as well as IPL 2024. PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying on condition of anonymity:
“There is no update on Hardik's fitness status as of now and one can say there remains a big question mark of him being available before the end of IPL.”
On the other hand, a report in the Times of India claimed that Pandya has recovered from his ankle injury and is set to feature in the series against Afghanistan as well as IPL 2024.
The all-rounder was last seen in action during the 2023 World Cup league match against Bangladesh in Pune. He injured himself in the game while trying to stop a ball in the follow through.
