AHMEDABAD: A mix of style and substance is what makes
Hardik Pandya
stand out from the other cricketers of his generation. Neatly spiked hair, designer clothes and a chiselled body to go with a smart cricketing brain have made him the go to cricketing property in India, fast-tracking him the boy whose family once struggled to make ends meet into a world of constant spotlight.
The spotlight in Ahmedabad on Sunday will again be on Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans with distinction in the last two IPL seasons. This time for a different reason, though.
Having shifted allegiance to Mumbai Indians in a much hyped trade, Pandya will be under scrutiny as he leads the five-time champions against his former team.
That he must lead this Mumbai Indians side comprising
Rohit Sharma
, the franchise’s former captain and also the captain of the national side, adds intrigue to the IPL soap opera.
Another subplot is that Pandya will be leading his team out against Titans, a team he captained admirably for the last two seasons.
GT are now led by
Shubman Gill
, an exciting prospect himself. In fact, the Titans batting core has a similar look to that of the last two seasons.
The bowling looks weak, though, with pace spearhead
Mohammed Shami
ruled out. The onus will be on
Umesh Yadav
and Mohit Sharma and the Afghan spin duo of
Rashid Khan
and Noor Ahmed.
As for Mumbai, starting strongly has never been Mumbai their forte, an anomaly they will be looking to correct. Rohit Sharma will be looking to get some runs under his belt ahead of the T20I World Cup in June. Another batter with a point to prove is Ishan Kishan. With Suryakumar Yadav missing from action, Pandya, Nehal Wadhera, Tilak Varma, Tim David and Dewald Brewis will have to shoulder additional responsibility in the middle order.
The prospect of watching
Jasprit Bumrah
and Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Tushara, who recently took a hat-trick against Bangladesh, operate in tandem is tantalising.
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