IPL 2024: Mumbai Indians Informed Rohit Sharma Before About Hardik Pandya Taking Captaincy From Him | REPORTS
New Delhi: Indian captain Rohit Sharma was already told by the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise that the former Gujarat Titans (GT) player will be the new captain of their side ahead of the recently concluded ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India, according to reports. The five-time champions named Hardik as their new skipper on Friday.
The former Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik made a return to the franchise after a trade deal between MI and GT last month. During his leadership in GT, the Indian all-rounder led his side in the past two seasons, in which Hardik also won the IPL 2022 title and reached the 2023 edition final, where they got defeated in a thrilling final against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
After announcing the news of the new skipper, the Mumbai Indians shared a heartwarming post on social media for Rohit. “Ro, In 2013 you took over as captain of MI. You asked us to Believe. In victories & defeats, you asked us to Smile. 10 years & 6 trophies later, here we are. Our forever captain your legacy will be etched in Blue & Gold. Thank you, Captain RO,” wrote MI on X, formerly Twitter.
According to the report in the Indian Express, it stated that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma agreed to play under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy in the upcoming IPL 2024 edition.
However, the report further revealed that Pandya’s trade to the Mumbai Indians from the Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2024 mini-auction was mainly focused on getting a captain.
The MI franchise management, after consultations, agreed to Pandya’s condition and informed Rohit about it during the ODI World Cup 2023. However, the right-handed batter Rohit left it to the MI franchise to decide the team’s future.
Rohit Sharma had been captaining the MI side since 2013, and since he took over the reign, the side has won five titles, which came in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Mumbai Indians also became the most successful IPL franchise, along with Chennai Super Kings, who also have five trophies with them.
“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,” said Mahela Jayawardene, MI’s Global Head of Performance.