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‘Mumbai Indians ke liye consider karo IPL ke liye’: Sunil Gavaskar quips about conversation with Hardik Pandya after IND vs BAN Asia Cup match

Gavaskar felt that India should have made tweaks in the batting lineup depending on the match situation against Bangladesh.

Sunil Gavaskar hardik PandyaIndia's Hardik Pandya plays a shot during the Asia Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri )

Former India player Sunil Gavaskar opened up about a hilarious conversation with Hardik Pandya after the Men in Blue’s win against Bangladesh on Wednesday. The host asked Gavaskar what Hardik said to him after the presentation ceremony to which Gavaskar quipped that he told Pandya, the MI captain, to consider playing him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Mumbai Indians next season.

Hardik Pandya mujhe keh raha thha ‘bade fit lag rahe ho’. Toh maine kaha ‘theek hain, Mumbai Indians ke liye consider karo IPL ke liye’ (Hardik Pandya told me that I was looking fit so I replied ‘alright, consider me for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL,” Gavaskar said with a straight face.

India defeated Bangladesh by 41 runs but except Abhishek Sharma and Pandya who scored 75 and 38, no other Men in Blue batter could play a steady knock. India also tweaked with their batting lineup a bit, sending Shivam Dube at No.3 while Sanju Samson did not get a chance to bat because he was surprisingly slotted at No.8.

Gavaskar on India’s batting tweaks

Gavaskar felt that India should have made tweaks in the batting lineup depending on the match situation against Bangladesh.

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“If you have given someone a role before the tournament like you gave Shivam Dube the role of a finisher, told Sanju Samson that you are a finisher because you were an opener because we are going with Shubman Gill as the opener. If you are going with Gill as the opener, that means Samson has to go at no. 5 or 6. Tonight, he didn’t even get an opportunity to bat. If you are going to tweak the batting order, it should be based on the match situation. You put a little bit of pressure on Shivam Dube when you put him at No.3. He is not used to that number. I think if the tweaking was a little less, then probably it would have been better,” he said on the Sony Sports Network.

Suryakumar Yadav also has to make runs. He has been dismissed trying to play that shot. It’s his favourite shot. He has made a lot of runs with that shot. But if you are getting out trying to play that shot, then till reaching 20-25, keep that shot in the cold storage. After that when you play, you’ll score sixes,” he added.

After the win against Bangladesh, India qualified for the Asia Cup final with one match still in hand. They are now waiting to find out who their opponents will be between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

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