Mumbai Indians have announced Hardik Pandya as captain for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League. Pandya will succeed Rohit Sharma who was leading the side since 2013. MI’s Global Head of Performance Mahela Jayawardene said Pandya’s appointment is in line with the franchise’s philosophy of being “future ready”.
“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,” said Mahela in an official statement.
Mahela also expressed gratitude to Rohit for “exceptional leadership” during his tenure which lasted a decade and saw MI dominate the cash-rich league with consistent performances.
“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,” added Mahela.
The former Sri Lanka captain further added that the franchise would look forward to Rohit’s guidance both on and off the field, and welcomed Pandya as the new captain of MI.
“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,” said Mahela.
Under Pandya, GT won the title in 2022 and were runners-up in the 2023 edition of the cash-rich league. The two editions were the first real test of
Pandya’s captaincy and India’s premier all-rounder made instant impact with consistent outings across.
The 30-year-old has been leading the Indian cricket team in T20Is this year and was in charge of the unit during the series vs Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies.
Pandya moved back to Mumbai Indians, where his cricketing journey got underway in 2015, after an all-cash trade between Gujarat Titans and MI earlier this month. To make the trade happen, Mumbai Indians, which didn’t have the purse to afford Pandya’s league fee of Rs 15 crore, released plenty of players before and also traded Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore for an all-cash transaction of Rs 17.50 crore.
The various releases and Green’s trade not only allowed MI to get Pandya on board but also beefed up their purse to Rs 17.75 crore for the eight available slots, including four overseas, for the December 19 mini-auction in Dubai.
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