Former India opener Aakash Chopra has said that new Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya will be under a lot of pressure in the upcoming IPL 2024. Pandya will take over the reins from five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma.
Notably, Pandya had led the Gujarat Titans to IPL 2022 title win and in the final of the IPL 2023. Then in one of the biggest trades in IPL history, MI traded Hardik from GT in an all-cash deal and in a shock decision, named him captain.
Hardik made his IPL debut for the MI franchise back in 2015 and played 7 seasons in a row for them before parting ways in 2022. Rohit, on the other hand, remains a key member of the MI team after joining them back in 2011.
Recently, MI coach Mark Boucher explained why Mumbai Indians (MI) appointed Hardik Pandya as their new skipper, replacing Rohit. Boucher said that Hardik’s appointment as the new MI skipper was based on cricketing logic and one should not get emotional about the decision.
Thereafter, Ritika commented on the video to Boucher’s explanation, writing, “So many things are wrong with this”.
Chopra has said on his YouTube channel, that Ritika’s comment spread like wildfire and that pressure will be on Hardik Pandya to keep the MI team as one unit.
"I was listening to an interview with Boucher where he explained why they did the captaincy change. He tried to explain the cricketing reasons, but Ritika (Rohit's wife) commented below that, and it was obvious that it would go viral because she said - 'So many things are wrong with this',” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"We don't know what's right and what's wrong. I am slightly worried because the Mumbai Indians have a phenomenal team on paper, but the biggest pressure on Hardik Pandya will be whether he can combine the five fingers to make a fist, whether he can take the entire team in one direction," he added.
Rohit Sharma is tied with MS Dhoni for the most IPL title wins as a captain, winning the trophy in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 for MI.
