Hardik Pandya who is the Mumbai Indians skipper, was spotted giving pep talk to young pace sensation Ashwani Kumar during the team’s training session at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The Mumbai Indians will be playing against Lucknow Super Giants on April 4, Friday.
Ahead of the much-awaited IPL 2025 clash, Pandya was seen talking to the young pacer about staying determined and being ready to face the challenges ahead. Ashwani Kumar made headlines after he bowled exceptionally well, taking four wickets after giving just 24 runs on March 31st against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. He ripped through the middle order of KKR and helped his team win a crucial game.
Just a message for every young & budding cricketer out there #MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai #TATAIPL #LSGvMI pic.twitter.com/K9Pawlg1tT
— Mumbai Indians (mipaltan) April 3, 2025
“Be well-prepared. Put in all your effort and stick to the plan. Look forward to every game you play. Before any match, I don’t go with any expectations. I just try to execute my preparation. Why did you get success? Because you stuck to the plan and bowled in the right line and length. Hence, the success. Just follow the plan and the rest will follow,” Pandya said.
“Even if you bowl well, you can’t guarantee a result. But you should know that you bowled well. What else can you do? So you have to maintain a balance,” he added.
Talking about the game, the Mumbai-based franchise are coming after securing their first win of the IPL 2025 against KKR after two successive losses while LSG have also won just one game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
LSG squad for IPL 2025:Rishabh Pant, Abdul Samad, Akash Deep, Akash Singh, Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Himmat Singh, Shamar Joseph, Aryan Juyal, Arshin Kulkarni, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Nicholas Pooran, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Manimaran Siddharth, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Yadav.
MI squad for IPL 2025:Hardik Pandya, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Bevon Jacobs, Robin Minz, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naman Dhir, Vignesh Puthur, Satyanarayana Raju, Ryan Rickelton, Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Krishnan Shrijith, Arjun Tendulkar, Tilak Varma, Reece Topley, Suryakumar Yadav.