The Mumbai Indians will have fresh look in the IPL 2024 with Hardik Pandya leading the five-time champions. The change in captaincy from Rohit Sharma to Pandya has been a hotly debated topic on social media. Rohit Sharma led the side to five title but before the IPL 2024, MI sprung a surprise by recruiting back Pandya from Gujarat Titans. Hardik Pandya had left Mumbai Indians earlier to join Gujarat Titans as skipper. Parthiv Patel, former Indian cricket team wicketkeeper and ex-Mumbai Indians, shared an interesting incident in the Mumbai Indians camp during his time with the side.

“Rohit is always with the players and the biggest examples of it are Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Bumrah joined MI for the first time in 2014, but when he played his first season in 2015, it didn’t turn out that well. It was like that he was to be released mid-season but Rohit felt this is player is going to shine and that they should keep him. And you saw how from 2016, Bumrah’s performance reached the next level,” Parthiv said during the Legends Lounge Show on Jio Cinema.

“Same with Hardik Pandya. When he joined in 2015, he became quite the rage but in 2016 he had a bad season. The thing is when you’re an uncapped player, franchises release you quickly and then assess how a player is performing in Ranji Trophy or other domestic matches before maybe taking them back. But Rohit did not let it happen. That’s why these guys went on to become the players that they did.

He also talked about Hardik Pandya and even Jos Buttler, why don’t you post the whole statement? @CricCrazyJohns pic.twitter.com/2j2bgOoM4J

— Serah (@Iwillhuntuhdown) March 14, 2024

“Talking about international players, I can talk about Jos Buttler. In the 2017 season, Rohit Sharma felt he could contribute more as an opener. So, Rohit Sharma demoted himself and I opened with JOs Buttler.”

Meanhwile, Hardik Pandya expressed happiness at joining the Mumbai Indians (MI) camp ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from March 22, putting into words the “emotions” and “memories” he felt after “seeing old friends and reliving the good old days”. Pandya joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) camp ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday. The all-rounder is set to captain Mumbai Indians (MI), replacing their five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy-winning skipper Rohit Sharma in the 2024 season of the cash-rich league. Taking to Instagram, Hardik shared a video of him meeting some MI colleagues, including the bowling coach Lasith Malinga, who was once Hardik’s teammate during his playing days with MI.

Hardik also expressed excitement for what lies ahead for him with the franchise and made his intentions to “get down to business” absolutely loud and clear. He also shared some pictures of himself sweating it out in the nets.

“Day 1. So many emotions, so many memories. Seeing old friends and reliving the good old days. Excited for what’s ahead with this wonderful team. Let’s get down to business @mumbaiindians,” said Hardik’s Instagram post caption.