Hardik Pandya, who was traded in by Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, has replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the franchise for the upcoming 17th season of the league, the franchise announced on December 15, 2023.
This ends Rohit Sharma’s 10-year captaincy stint, who led the MI side to their first-ever IPL title in 2013 and won four further titles with them in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
Hardik, who led Gujarat Titans to IPL crown in 2022 and the final in IPL 2023, was traded in by MI in an all-cash deal, after they traded Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Banglore.
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“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,” MI coach Mahela Jayawardene said as per the team website.
"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.
We welcome Hardik Pandya as the new captain of MI and wish him all the very best," he added.
Rohit took over as MI captain from Ricky Ponting midway through IPL 2013 and led the team to its maiden title. Hardik began his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians in 2015 and has scored 1476 runs for the franchise.
