The much-hyped and talked about return of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is gradually taking its complete shape as Hardik Pandya has reunited with his old franchise Mumbai Indians and has started preparing for the team’s campaign opener against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, March 24 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The power-hitter was seen batting in a net session for Mumbai Indians and practised range hitting.
Hardik Pandya’s batting video:
Mumbai Indians’ (MI) move to replace Rohit Sharma as captain and give the reins of captaincy to Hardik has not gone down well with many franchise fans. A major section of fans still feel that Rohit was the right guy to lead the team in the 2024 edition of the marquee tournament but the MI think tank had other ideas.
Rohit helped MI become IPL champions five times and hence there was a sense of understanding that he will be retained as captain during the 17 edition of the IPL as well. However, many former cricketers and experts believe that the decision to hand Hardik the captaincy of the side is not a bad one and might work in favour of Mumbai.
Hardik led Gujarat Titans to a title finish in IPL 2022 which was also their inaugural season in the lucrative tournament after a win over Rajasthan Royals in the summit clash. The 30-year-old has become a much more responsible player after his captaincy gig and it may land in favour of MI.
Mumbai will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals other than playing Titans as per the initial schedule that has been revealed.
Mumbai Indians’ squad for IPL 2024:
Rohit Sharma, Tim David (AUS), Suryakumar Yadav, N. Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis (SA). All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Romario Shepherd (WI), Nehal Wadhera, Shams Mulani, Gerald Coetzee (SA), Mohammad Nabi (AFG), Shivalik Sharma, Naman Dhir.