IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma hugs Hardik Pandya at MI nets after much-awaited reunion
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya and senior batter Rohit Sharma were spotted hugging in the Mumbai Indians nets ahead of their tournament opener against Gujarat Titans.
MI posted a video of the duo sharing an embrace between each other right ahead of their final practice session before IPL 2024. Rumours were rife about Hardik’s differences with Rohit after the all-rounder was announced as the MI captain ahead of the 2024 season.
However, the duo allayed any concerns about bad blood between them by sharing a hug. The incident was captured by the Mumbai Indians social media and the posted the same on March 20, Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians play their opening match of the season against Gujarat Titans on March 24. Ahead of the game Mumbai Indians hosted their press conference and took questions from the media. Hardik Pandya was asked about the captaincy transition to which he replied that Sharma was like his big brother who will always have a shoulder around him.
“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,” Hardik Pandya said.
“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 added.
However, Pandya did not reply to questions about a captaincy clause being in his contract and head coach Mark Boucher stayed away from questions on the captaincy transition as well.
The fans were not exactly happy with MI’s decision of brining Hardik Pandya back to the franchise, that too as the captain. On the day of the announcement, MI infact had lost 400k followers on Twitter.
Mumbai Indians announced the change of guard in the evening of 15 December.
“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,” Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance, Mumbai Indians said.
Hardik Pandya, who debuted in the IPL for Mumbai Indians returns to the franchise after 2 years of captaining Gujarat Titans. Pandya led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season, where they beat Rajasthan Royals in the final of IPL 2022. Hardik Pandya was named the player of the match in the final, after he picked up 3 wickets and scored 34 runs. Pandya did well with the franchise in 2023 as well, leading them to the final, where they lost to MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in a last-ball thriller.