"BEST THING…"- Malinga discusses Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya's IPL 2024 comeback in MI

The Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans will engage in an exciting contest in the main leagues' first IPL 2024 encounter. There's even more reason to be excited about Hardik Pandya's return to take on his old side because this will be his first game leading the Mumbai Indians since taking Rohit Sharma's position. The game is slated to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. It is expected to be a fiercely contested fight with about equal odds of victory for both teams. Prior to this conflict, MI could need to take into account a number of significant elements.

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Malinga makes a huge statement about Jasprit Bumrah & Hardik Pandya

The Mumbai Indians' (MI) bowling coach, Lasith Malinga, highlighted the importance of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya's comeback, viewing it as a critical step forward for the team in the forthcoming IPL 2024 season. While Hardik played for the Gujarat Titans the previous two seasons before returning to MI in an off-season cash trade agreement, Bumrah was sidelined due to injury during the 2023 Indian Premier League.

In spite of their absence from the previous season, MI finished in a respectable third place, losing to GT, the eventual runners-up, in Qualifier 2. Speaking to media after the MI junior tournament, Malinga emphasised the value of Bumrah and Hardik's expertise and their role in the dynamics of the team. Lasith Malinga said:

"Experience, we can't buy that. They are in top form as well. Bumrah has been playing Test cricket over the last few months and has performed really well. Plus, they have the knowledge and experience of T20 cricket. How they handle things, they can share with all the youngsters in our team. This is the best thing to have happened in MI,"

“Most people think T20 is the batters' game, but I still feel bowlers win matches. That's why we (MI) want big-hearted bowlers. Like Boom (Bumrah) and Aksah Madhwal, for example. These are two good Indian bowlers who have experience of playing (for MI). MI always believes in having a proper fast-bowling unit. And I feel we have got that this time,”

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Bumrah was instrumental in MI's five IPL wins from 2013 to 2020, while Hardik was a major factor in their last four victories in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. MI was a dominant force in the IPL. Famous for his all-around ability, Hardik will take over as MI's captain for the next campaign after a successful time leading GT to a title in 2022 and a runners-up finish in 2023.

ipLasith Malinga recently tweeted that bowlers often change the course of a game, refuting the widely held belief that batsmen are the beneficiaries of T20 cricket. MI demonstrated their dedication to putting together a strong bowling team by investing heavily in the mini-auction to strengthen their pace-bowling department and sign players like as Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, and Nuwan Thushara.