Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians have appointed Hardik Pandya as their captain for the 2024 season. This ends an era of Rohit Sharma at the helm for MI as they won a massive five titles under his inspiring leadership since he took over from Ricky Ponting mid-season in 2013.
Overall, Rohit led Mumbai Indians in 158 matches in the cash-rich league and won 87 out of it with a win percentage of 55.06. Rohit lost 67 matches while at the helm of the Mumbai side even as four matches ended in a tie. Rohit Sharma also scored 3986 runs as captain of the five-time champions with 98 being his highest score. Meanwhile, his successor Hardik Pandya returned to the MI franchise after being traded from Gujarat Titans last month.
Hardik has a stellar record himself as captain having led the Titans to trophy in their debut season in 2022 and were also the runners up last season losing to MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the final. This is a massive step from Mumbai Indians when it comes to changing the leadership personnel.
MI’s Global Head of Performance, Mahela Jayawardene acknowledged Rohit Sharma’s contribution to the franchise as captain and also lauded his stint at the helm as ‘nothing short of extraordinary’.
Hardik Pandya named MI skipper on Instagram post
“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,” he said.
Jayawardene also noted that MI is blessed with some of the best captains in it’s rich history in the cash-rich naming the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh apart from Rohit. He also stated that the decision to name Hardik captain came as on the back of their philosophy of being ‘future-ready.’
“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,” Jayawardene further added.
MI will now be preparing for the upcoming auction that is set to take place on December 19 at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai. They have the purse of INR 17.75 crore left after trading Cameron Green to RCB while trading Hardik Pandya into the team and will be keen on including some good and valuable players in their squad.
