Rohit Sharma was informed by Mumbai Indians at the start of the World Cup about Hardik Pandya returning to the MI fold for the upcoming season, this time as captain. According to sources, Pandya had agreed to move from Gujarat to Mumbai on one condition that he be made the franchise captain.
The Indian Express understands that Rohit was made to understand the franchise roadmap going ahead around the start of the World Cup. He was informed about the immediate need for a change in captaincy in a series of meetings and agreed with the plan to play under Pandya for the forthcoming season.
Pandya was recently brought back by MI from Gujarat Titans in a trade. The Indian Express learnt that Pandya had made it clear to the MI owners that if the franchise wants him back in the side, he will lead the team. The franchise management after consultations agreed to Pandya’s wish and later informed Sharma about it during the World Cup. Sharma had by then left it to the franchise to decide the team’s future.
In a press release on Friday, the franchise’s global head of performance Mahela Jayawardene stated, “It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season.”
The release furthermore stated, “We express our gratitude to Rohit Sharma for his exceptional leadership; his tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 has been nothing short of extraordinary. His leadership has not only brought unparalleled success to the team but has also solidified his place as one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL.”
Back in 2013, after MI had got off to a poor start under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting, the franchise would turn to Rohit Sharma to lead them. It was a call that resulted in their first-ever league title. Since then, Rohit has led the team to four more titles – the joint-most for any captain alongside MS Dhoni.
Pandya, who had left MI for Gujarat a couple of seasons back, led the new franchise to a title in their first-ever IPL season. Defending the title this year, Pandya and Co made it to the final again but lost against the Chennai Super Kings.
“The feeling of coming back to Mumbai is very special for a lot of reasons. How my cricketing journey started in 2015 with MI, them noticing me in 2013,” Pandya had said on his return to his first IPL franchise. “When I look back, the whole span of 10 years has been something very special. It has not sunk in yet that I’m finally back where my whole cricketing journey started. I have achieved all the possible things.”
Hardik’s trade back to Mumbai was one of the highlights of the player trading window ahead of the upcoming IPL 2024 auction. To accommodate the Indian all-rounder, the franchise had traded Australia’s Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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