In a significant development, Mumbai Indians (MI) have declared all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the successor to Rohit Sharma for the upcoming IPL 2024 season. The announcement comes ahead of the IPL mini-auction.
Hardik Pandya, who captained Gujarat Titans (GT) to victory in IPL 2022 after being released by MI, will now lead the Mumbai Paltan. The move aligns with MI’s philosophy of being future-ready.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed excitement about Rohit Sharma returning as a pure batter for the T20 league. He opined that the leadership change at MI makes a “lot of cricketing sense” and emphasized not being sentimental or emotional about Rohit Sharma.
“It makes a lot of cricketing sense to bring in Hardik Pandya. I just hope that Hardik Pandya does not feel the pressure due to the way this has happened. Rohit Sharma will be the same batter. If he continues to be the pure batter and not a captain, I don’t mind the leadership change at all,” Manjrekar added.
Under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, MI became the most successful team in IPL history, winning five titles. Manjrekar hopes Hardik Pandya thrives in his new role without succumbing to undue pressure.
Stay tuned for more updates on IPL 2024 and the Mumbai Indians’ captaincy transition.
