Ravindra Jadeja spoke about the difficulties of starting his career with the Indian national team

Important information has emerged regarding the future of Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya. He attempted to return to the Gujarat Titans squad, and the franchise was prepared to reinclude him in the team. However, negotiations stalled due to Pandya's demand to return to the captaincy role.

According to Indian Express, Gujarat was ready to take Hardik back and discussed the matter with current captain Shubman Gill. Gill expressed willingness for Hardik's return to the team, but the franchise categorically refused his request for the captaincy powers.

A representative of Gujarat Titans declined to comment on the situation. Meanwhile, Hardik's representative stated that he had not conducted direct negotiations with any franchise regarding a transfer or trade. According to him, any contacts concerning Hardik were made through the Mumbai Indians franchise.

The discussion about Hardik's possible return to Gujarat takes place against the backdrop of existing concerns about his standing in Mumbai Indians. In the 2026 season, Mumbai Indians lost 10 out of 14 matches and finished ninth in the league table. Consequently, the team has been waiting for an IPL title for six years.

Following the team's poor performance, the Mumbai management began discussing Hardik's role in the team's management. There were also reports that his spot in the squad was being considered. After losing to Rajasthan Royals in the last match of the season, the Mumbai coaching staff held a meeting with the team veterans. According to sources, the coaching staff demanded that players follow the coach's advice and execute data-based instructions, as players had previously often ignored the staff's recommendations.

Another issue for Mumbai Indians this season has been the lack of players who are contenders for the 'Orange Cap' or 'Purple Cap' awards. Ryan Rickelton scored the most goals for the team, placing 17th in the top scorer list, while the overseas player Allah Gajanafar ranked 14th among players with the highest number of points.

Hardik's relationship with Mumbai Indians has experienced ups and downs multiple times before. In 2022, after leaving Mumbai, Hardik moved to Gujarat Titans, where he helped the team win the IPL championship in his first season as captain.

In 2024, Hardik returned to Mumbai Indians and was appointed captain instead of Rohit Sharma. The 2024 season under Hardik was unsuccessful, and the team finished last. During that period, Hardik faced criticism from Mumbai fans. Although there was an improvement in the team's results in 2025, which suggested an improvement in relations with the fans, the poor 2026 season once again called into question his leadership qualities.

Due to the attempt to return to Gujarat Titans and the stated demand for captaincy, discussions about Hardik's future in the IPL have intensified. Currently, Gujarat has refused to grant him a leadership role.

Ajinkya Rahane stated that he has no regrets about his decision to leave cricket. The experienced Indian player emphasized that he made the decision to retire after careful consideration and is completely satisfied with what he gave to the sport.

After announcing his retirement, he was contacted by many of his former teammates. Rahane reported that the great batsman Sachin Tendulkar was the first to call him. Sachin expressed hope that Rahane would play for a long time yet.

Rahane explained that he clearly told Sachin that he did not wish to artificially prolong his career. He believes that now is the right time since he has contributed his full effort on the field and has no regrets.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Rahane noted that Sachin Paaji called him first. He mentioned that he expected him to continue playing, but he replied that he did not want to drag out his career as he was leaving without regrets.

Not only Sachin, but many old acquaintances of Rahane contacted him after his departure. Irfan Pathan called him, while Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah started communicating via messages. Rahane noted that the reaction of all these players was similar: they acknowledged his satisfaction because he worked honestly for the sport and gave it everything.

Rahane recalled his first years with the Indian team when he joined in 2011. He recounted that in the first five to six months of his career, he mainly observed the senior players of the team to learn. At that time, big figures like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni, and Virender Sehwag were present in the Indian team dressing room. According to Rahane, all these players provided him with significant support.

He also mentioned that during that period, sufficient time for net practice was primarily given to the main squad players. Players who were not in the starting lineup had fewer opportunities to practice. Because of this, Rahane learned a lot by observing the senior players and later applied this knowledge in his game.

Rahane also witnessed the transformation of the Indian team from within. According to him, as old veterans left the team, the atmosphere in the dressing room began to change. He noticed that at a certain point, there were many players in the team who had played together before, which created a special bond and sense of unity among the athletes. The players' thoughts were also quite similar.

During that period, the team aimed to win more matches by playing aggressive cricket. However, when new generation players started joining the Indian team, Rahane and his teammates adopted a different approach to the dressing room. They focused on creating an environment where young players felt comfortable and where their good performances and achievements were openly celebrated.

Rahane emphasized that the goal of this new phase was to create a dressing room where there would be no room for arrogance or jealousy among players. He wanted every player to praise the success of another and maintain cohesion within the team.

Former fast bowler for the Indian team, Javagal Srinath, shared an interesting comment regarding one of the most discussed episodes involving Saurav Ganguly. Srinath suggested that if he had been the referee in the match between India and Australia at the Eden Gardens during the 2001 Test, he could have temporarily banned Ganguly from playing in some matches to force the Australian captain, Steve Waugh, to wait when determining the outsider.

Recalling past times, Srinath jokingly stated: 'I would ban Saurav for several matches.' This incident became widely known during the Australian team's visit to India in 2001, when Indian captain Ganguly made Steve Waugh wait while determining the outsider. Some viewed this as a tactic of psychological pressure on the Australian captain.

Nevertheless, Saurav Ganguly himself later explained the reason for the delay with other circumstances, stating that he could not find his blazer, which led to the delay in determining the outsider. In that Test match, the Indian team won despite playing on a follow-on. Subsequently, India won the series 2-1.

After the joke about the outsider situation, Javagal Srinath highly praised Saurav Ganguly's leadership, particularly noting his ability to prepare young players. According to Srinath, Ganguly supported players like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Virender Sehwag by giving them ample opportunities for self-testing.

Javagal Srinath also recalled the period after the match-fixing scandal in Indian cricket in the late 1990s. He believes that at that time, there was a collective desire among the players to restore the image of Indian cricket. The team, which was fighting for victories abroad in the 1990s, gradually began to change its behavior.

Javagal Srinath made an important statement regarding the 2003 World Cup final. In the decisive match against Australia in Johannesburg, Saurav Ganguly won the toss and decided to start with bowling. Srinath reported that during team discussions, he supported the idea of starting with batting. He felt that creating a score would be a more effective strategy to put pressure on Australia.

He noted: 'I was among those who said we should start with batting and then put pressure on them.' However, captain Saurav Ganguly decided on bowling. In Srinath's opinion, after the captain's decision, the team should accept it and move on. That day, Australia played strongly, and India's dream of winning the World Cup collapsed.

Javagal Srinath also recounted an interesting episode from the early days of Zaheer Khan. He saw Zaheer take six wickets against Air India while playing for MRF Pace Foundation and was very impressed by his bowling. After that, he recommended Zaheer's name to the then selector Chandu Bordey.

Chandu Bordey jokingly asked what would happen to Javagal Srinath if Zaheer Khan made it into the team? Srinath replied: 'If he is good, he will take my place.' This response from Javagal Srinath also demonstrates the team spirit of that era.