IPL 2018: KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya’s wish to bring jersey swap ritual to cricket

The Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) crossed swords at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The visitors lost the match, but a heart-warming camaraderie was seen after the match. Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul exchanged their jerseys and the same grabbed eyeballs. Thereafter, the duo embraced each other, which was an absolute delight to see.

Pandya was also seen helping Rahul in adjusting his shirt. The same jersey-exchange tradition is mostly seen in the game of football. However, Rahul, in an interview, mentioned that the act wasn’t pre-planned. Meanwhile, he also expressed their desire to bring the ritual to cricket as well.

“That’s the beauty of the IPL”- KL Rahul

“Look we’ve seen this happening in football and obviously Hardik and I are good friends and I felt it would be nice to collect some jerseys and then bring the tradition to cricket as well. We didn’t speak about this earlier and as we’re talking now, I said give me your jersey and he wanted my jersey too and so we exchanged jerseys, it’s a nice thing,” Rahul was quoted as saying after the match at the venue.

The match turned out to be a cliffhanger as both teams fought tooth and nail to overpower each other. Rahul eventually scored 94 runs and it wasn’t enough to take KXIP over the finishing line. KL Rahul, in the media interaction, also spoke about the competitive nature on the cricket pitch, parking personal relations outside the 22 yards.

“That’s the beauty of the IPL that we play really hard to win. Though we play 300 days of cricket together, during the two months when we play IPL, there’s no friendship once we step on to the field. I want to take him down, he wants to take my wicket. That’s how the event is.

It’s not just between me and him, but all the eight teams compete by heart and that’s what makes it the biggest tournament in the world,” the Orange Cap holder added.

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