‘I know he is…’: MI skipper Hardik says he won’t feel ‘awkward’ in leading India captain Rohit in IPL 2024
Ahead of the IPL 2024 opener, on March 22, Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya and head coach Mark Boucher addressed the media. In the presser, Hardik spoke on leading India captain Rohit Sharma for the first time in the upcoming season.
In Dec 2023, the MI team management named Hardik as the captain, replacing Rohit who led the franchise from 2013-2023 (winning them five titles).
Since the big announcement, a lot has been said and written about Hardik. It will be interesting to see how he leads Rohit, under whom he has played majority of his cricket. Hardik reacted to the prospect of leading Rohit and said that it won’t be ‘awkward’ for him and feels Hitman will be around to help him whenever needed.
‘Rohit is the captain of the Indian team’
Hardik said, “First of all, it won’t be any different because he is going to be there to help me out, if I need any help. At the same time, he is the captain of the Indian team, which helps me because this team, what he has achieved under his captaincy, from now onwards, I want to carry forward what he has achieved.”
“It won’t be awkward or anything different. It will be a nice experience. I have played all my career under his captaincy. I know he is going to have a hand on my shoulder always, throughout the season,” he further mentioned.
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‘To be very honest, we respect fans. At the same time, we focus on sport’
On Rohit’s removal as MI captain, many fans shared their disappointment. Even the social media followers of the MI franchise dipped considerably. Hardik reacted to the fans’ sentiments and said on the negative response, “Backlash bit. To be very honest, we respect fans. At the same time, we focus on sport. I control the contralables. I don’t focus on what I can’t control. At the same time, I am very grateful to fans. They have every right to say what they say. I respect their opinion. At the same time, we will focus on doing well.”
The five-time winners Mumbai will open their campaign in IPL 2024 versus Hardik’s previous franchise GT, at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 24 (Sunday). The season-opener will be held between defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai on Friday evening (March 22).
MI squad for IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma.
