You need to be a proper devil to hate Dhoni: Hardik Pandya

That Hardik Pandya greatly admires MS Dhoni is never in doubt. The Gujarat Titans skipper has always been vocal in his admiration and love for the man who gave him his first chance in international cricket back in 2016. Under Dhoni, Hardik became the cricketer that we know today and went on to have a substantial career.

It will come to another intersection as both will be walking onto the ground for a toss during the first qualifier between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans. However, there is no love lost between the two, as Pandya stated that Dhoni will always remain his brother and skipper.

"I'll always be a Mahendra Singh Dhoni fan and for so many fans out there and so many cricket lovers. You need to be a proper devil to hate Mahendra Singh Dhoni," Pandya said in a video posted by Gujarat Titans on social media.

"A lot of people think Mahi is serious and all that. For me, I crack jokes, and I don't see him as a Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Obviously, I've learned a lot of things from him, a lot of positive things, which I've learnt from him just while watching, not even much talking. For me, he's just my dear friend, dear brother, who I do pranks, who I chill,” Pandya added.

For the record, Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have played each other thrice in the Indian Premier League and in all three games, GT have emerged victorious.