MI surprised everyone when they roped in Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and named him skipper for the new season, replacing Rohit.
The fixtures for the first leg of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) are already out and fans are waiting with baited breaths for the action to kickstart. With the dates drawing closer, the teams are busy with their penultimate preparations in a bid to lift the coveted trophy.
While defending champions Chennai Super Kings will play the season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), a lot of eyes will be on their rivals Mumbai Indians who will be heading into the tournament with a new leader at the helm.
MI franchise made a surprising revelation ahead of the auction last year in Dubai when they roped in Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and named him skipper for the new season. Consequently, it is expectedly going to be a tad tricky for Rohit Sharma to relinquish the role in which he has once led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles.
Speaking on the same lines, former India cricketer turned pundit Sanjay Manjrekar opined that with the swagger Hardik brings alongside him, the likes of Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav playing under the swashbuckling all-rounder will be entertaining to watch.
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“It’s going to be tricky. Hardik Pandya is a guy who has got a bit of a swag. He will carry that into the Mumbai Indians dressing room as well. And it will a bit uncomfortable (thoda uncomfortable hoga) because Rohit Sharma might have thought, he will get one more year as captain. Suryakumar Yadav might also have something similar in his mind, that he might have been able to lead Mumbai Indians this season. But Hardik Pandya won’t let that affect him. It will be entertaining,” Manjrekar said in a Star Sports show.
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