In the first edition of Gujarat Titans (GT) in Indian Premier League, which was IPL 2022, captain Hardik Pandya lost his cool once on a senior member of the team. He was Mohammed Shami. The Indian pacer had not liked the reaction from his skipper and ensured that he spoke his mind to him but only after the match. Hardik was clearly upset after a ‘lousy’ attempt in the field and gave a mouthful to him.
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In a podcast with Gaurav Kapur, Shami was asked about the same episode and the fast bowler did not mince his words and spoke his heart out. Shami said that when he saw Hardik lash out on him, he did not feel right.
Shami said that he later told Hardik and the team management that he does not like being lashed out at by anyone on the field especially with the camera on every player.
“Once Hardik had reacted aggressively towards me. At that time, I had told him ‘Bhai, there is a lot of responsibility. Management also came and it was my power. I am not a human being. I do not mean anything to anyone. I am still in the job. It means. I am important because of my actions. But I don’t want these dirty reactions on the screen. You say something, I say something, then the team environment gets affected. So that should not be created. After our day We didn’t react at all,” said Shami.
Today, Shami and Hardik are teammates in India. They have already put the incident in the past. The cricketers have played enough cricket with and against each other to understand that respect is a big part of the game and that lack of it can never help a team.
Incidentally, when Hardik injured himself during the Cricket World Cup 2023, he was replaced in the Indian playing 11 for the remaining matches by Shami, who went on to have a wonderful tournament with the ball. In IPL 2024, Shami will be bowling to Hardik, not just in the nets but in the matches as the GT captain has shifted base. Hardik was traded in to Mumbai Indians (MI) from GT in an all-cash deal. He will also be captaining MI in IPL 2024.