Mumbai Indians will be starting a new journey in the forthcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). After being led by Rohit Sharma for a decade, the five-time champions will have a new captain for the upcoming season. India allrounder Hardik Pandya will be leading the team in IPL 2024.
Rohit Sharma led the team from 2013 to 2023 and did a brilliant job as a captain. Under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians became one of the most successful sides in the history of the competition. He led Mumbai Indians to a record five IPL titles with the last one coming in 2020.
Although Rohit Sharma could not do well as a captain in the recent seasons of the IPL, many believe that his unceremonious sacking was harsh. Since his sacking, the rumors of unrest in the dressing room have been doing the rounds. And his absence from a recent team bonding exercise is bound to add more fuel to the fire.
The Mumbai Indians squad visited Alibaug on Tuesday (March 19) and are set to stay there for the next couple of days before returning to Mumbai. From Mumbai, they will travel to Ahmedabad for the first game of the tournament, scheduled to take place against Gujarat Titans on March 24.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Rohit Sharma was nowhere to be seen as the Mumbai Indians cricketers and the coaches took the ferry to Alibaug. The former Mumbai Indians captain was not seen even when the players and other members were deboarding the ferry.
Jasprit Bumrah was also absent and the report stated that there is a possibility that he is yet to link up with the team following the grueling Test series against England. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma linked up with the team earlier this week.
Hardik Pandya on playing with Rohit Sharma:
Earlier this week, Hardik Pandya was asked about his rapport with Rohit Sharma when he was addressing the media. In response, the Mumbai Indians skipper stated that all is well between him and his predecessor while also insisting that there would be no awkwardness between him and Rohit Sharma.
“It won’t be any different, because he will be there to help out if I need his help,” Pandya said before adding:
“He is the captain of the Indian team, which helps me because what this team has achieved, it has achieved under him. From now onwards, it will be about carrying forward what he has achieved, so there will be nothing awkward. I have played for 10 years under him and I know he is going to have his hand on my shoulders throughout the season.”