South African batting legend AB de Villers has shared his two cents on reports of Hardik Pandya being traded from Gujarat Titans (GT) to Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2024 season.

If the trade does happen, De Villiers believes MI skipper Rohit Sharma may hand over the captaincy duties to Hardik Pandya.

Hardik led the Titans to IPL triumph in their debut season in 2022. In the 2023 edition, he took the team to the final, where they lost to MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

"I have a funny feeling Rohit is going to let him (Hardik) captain. Rohit carries a lot of pressure of captaining Team India. Maybe that is going to be the move," said De Villiers on his YouTube channel.

Hardik began his IPL career at Mumbai Indians in 2015 and played for them until 2021, winning four titles in seven seasons with them. Ahead of the 2022 mega-auction, MI let him go as they could retain only a few players.

According to De Villiers, it will be a massive coup for MI to have one of their star players back in the set-up.

"It's a big news for Mumbai Indians. Hardik was a big player for Mumbai for many years. He loved playing at the Wankhede Stadium. He won the trophy with GT and then also went to the final of next season. He probably feels his time there is done," the former RCB batter added.

Hardik Pandya’s IPL numbers are quite impressive. The star all-rounder has scored 2,309 runs from 115 innings at a strike rate of 145.86, including 10 fifties and the best score of 91. Moreover, he has picked up 53 wickets in the tournament, showcasing his utility as a bowler.