The Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians will play in the opening IPL 2024 match, which looks to be an exciting derby contest. There will be even more excitement because Hardik Pandya will be playing against his old side. Cricket fans should expect a tough match at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m., with the sides' victory probabilities nearly evenly split. Before this confrontation, MI may need to think about a few things. 

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Praveen Kumar slams Hardik Pandya ahead of the IPL 2024

Former Indian fast bowler Praveen Kumar has taken issue with Hardik Pandya's decision to enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) immediately after recovering from an injury rather than play for his home state or for India. The 30-year-old has been out of action since the 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh due to an ankle ailment. During the DY Patil T20 event, he returned to competitive cricket.

After returning to the team in an all-cash trade with the Gujarat Titans (GT) during the off-season, Hardik is scheduled to captain the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2024 Indian Premier League. Praveen shared his opinions on Hardik's choice to play in the IPL again without representing either his state or India in a video that went viral. Praveen Kumar said: 

“You get injured two months before the IPL, you don't play for the country, you don't play for your state in domestic cricket, and just directly play in the IPL. That's not how things should be done. It's okay to earn money, there's nothing wrong with that. But you have to play for state and country and now people only give importance to the IPL).”

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After playing for MI for seven seasons (2015–2021), Hardik became the captain of the GT team for the next two seasons. In their first season in 2022, the franchise won a title under the leadership of the effective all-rounder. Last season, GT came dangerously close to winning back-to-back championships, but they were defeated by the MS Dhoni's  Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their title game, falling on the very last ball of play.