Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s return to his former franchise, the Mumbai Indians (MI), and then replacing Rohit Sharma as captain ahead of IPL 2024 didn’t go down well with many.

There's been a lot of talk and speculation regarding Pandya's return to the Mumbai Indians (MI) from the Gujarat Titans (GT) on a historic trade ahead of the upcoming IPL 2024. The MI recently named Pandya as their captain ahead of the next season, raising eyebrows since many expected him to play under the leadership of Rohit Sharma at least in the IPL 2024.

Now, former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra shared his take on the whole drama surrounding Pandya and MI’s captaincy. The cricket expert believes that Pandya becoming MI’s captain "might have been a part of" the trade deal.

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Aakash Chopra said on JioCinema’s daily sports show ‘AAKASHVANI’: “It’s my understanding and not some inside news. When Hardik (Pandya) decided to move from Gujarat, captaincy may have been a part of the deal. This decision would have been definitely communicated to Rohit Sharma as well.”

The commentator further noted, “Rohit would have also been briefed about Mumbai Indians’ future plans. I feel Ashish Nehra had a tremendous role in making Hardik the captain he was at Gujarat Titans. So, Mumbai’s job is cut out.”

Chopra signed off by saying: “They have to provide inputs at a different level for Hardik to replicate them on the field, because I don’t think Hardik, as a captain, is a finished product yet.”

(With FirstPost Inputs)