'Stats are just numbers...' - Hardik Pandya makes powerful 'waste of time' remark ahead of IPL 2024

India's star cricketer Hardik Pandya is expected to make his much-awaited return to the Indian Premier League 2024, more than five months after he hurt his ankle while playing in the ODI World Cup 2023 clash against Bangladesh at MCA in Pune.

Notably, the India all-rounder has already made his comeback to cricket at the DY Patil tournament; however, playing in the Indian Premier League 2024 is one of the world's most challenging, difficult, and demanding sports, especially when one is in a new role. 

Hardik Pandya will don a brand-new look when he returns home to appear for the Mumbai Indians, where he takes over captaincy duties from Rohit Sharma for the first time. MI announced the change in captaincy on December 15, naming Pandya to captain the team in place of Rohit Sharma. MI felt that the time was right for the franchise to embark on a change as Hardik Pandya guided the Gujarat Titans to win the title back in IPL 2022, while they ended up being the first runners in IPL 2023.

Stats are just numbers; it's a waste of time: Hardik Pandya

The 30-year-old cricketer guided the Gujarat Titans to their first IPL title in their first season after joining them two years ago. The team finished as runners-up the previous year as they suffered a defeat against CSK in the last two balls. MI relies on the all-rounder to guide them to success as Hardik Pandya makes his way back to the place where it all began his cricketing career and the place where he first emerged as a star.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya recently made his first appearance for the interview as the MI skipper, where he was asked about his stats. The 30-year-old cricketer came up with a powerful waste of time reply when he was asked about the statistics.

"I have that many? Wow'. I don't like the innings where we lost. I don't believe in 50s or 100s. Stats are just numbers; it's a waste of time," Hardik Pandya said on Star Sports.