On Friday, Hardik Pandya was named the captain of the Mumbai Indians in advance of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. With it came the end of Rohit Sharma’s ten-year career as captain of the MI. In his five IPL championships as captain, Rohit led the team to victory. Pandya returned to the MI team as part of Gujarat Titans’ dramatic trade move. The all-rounder won the title with the team in 2022 and served as GT captain for the previous two seasons.
Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance for the Mumbai Indians, commented on this change, saying, “It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready.” The Mumbai Indians have always had outstanding leadership, from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who have all worked to build the team for the future while also contributing to the team’s immediate success. For the 2024 Indian Premier League season, Hardik Pandya will lead the Mumbai Indians as captain, adhering to this philosophy.”
“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. 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.”
Pandya amassed 833 runs at an average of 37.86 and a strike rate of over 133 in 31 games for GT between 2022 and 2023. He also recorded six half-centuries and a career-high score of 87*. In addition, he finished with 11 wickets for the team, scoring the highest 3/17.
In addition, Pandya participated in 92 MI games between 2015 and 2021, amassing 1,476 runs at an average of 27.33 and a strike rate exceeding 153, including four half-centuries and a career-high score of 91. Along with taking 42 wickets for the team, he had the best bowling stats (3/20).
Pandya has five IPL trophies to his name; he won four of them with MI in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2022.
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