Mumbai Indians announced on Friday that all-rounder Hardik Pandya will take over as the captain of the five-time IPL champions. Hardik would be succeeding MI’s longest-serving, one of the most successful and loved captains, the illustrious, Rohit Sharma.
Hardik had completed a sensational trade move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League. Pandya captained GT for two seasons, guiding them to the title in 2022.
Mumbai Indians didn’t have enough left in their purse to bring Hardik Pandya back so they had to offload a big signing and therefore Cameron Green could also be traded. In Pandya’s absence, Shubman Gill is the front-runner to lead Gujarat Titans. MI, 5-time champions, were left with just Rs 15.25 crore after the retentions were completed on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma, alongwith MS Dhoni, has won the trophy the most times for his club – five times – but what sets Sharma apart is that he did so in 10 seasons as opposed to MSD’s 12.
“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,” Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance, Mumbai Indians said.
The revelation by the former Sri Lanka captain puts an end to all uncertainty over Hardik’s role at the team. Hardik was expected to play a bigger role after leading GT to the IPL victory last year and then to a runner-up place in IPL 2023. However, the question of how much larger has yet to be answered. Hardik has already taken over as India’s T20I captain, albeit unofficially, and will now head MI into a new era, hoping for bigger and better things. MI won five titles between 2013 and 2020 under Rohit, but with dismal results in 2022 and 2023, it appears a change of guard was on the way.
“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. Under his guidance, MI became one of the most successful and loved teams ever. We will look forward to his guidance and experience on and off the field to further strengthen MI. We welcome Hardik Pandya as the new captain of MI and wish him all the very best,” Jayawardene added.
