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Indian captain Rohit Sharma was reportedly told that all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be Mumbai Indians' captain ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India. After the World Cup, the five-time Indian Premier League champions completed a historic trade for Pandya in an all-cash deal and then, on December 15, announced that he would captain the side from the 2024 season.
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The announcement shocked countless Mumbai Indians' fans as Rohit Sharma was the most successful captain in franchise history. Under Sharma, MI won five IPL and one Champions League while growing into one of the best teams in tournament history. Coming back to the recent development, Rohit Sharma was made aware of Hardik Pandya taking up captaincy ahead of the World Cup as per an Indian Express report.
The report further revealed that Pandya's trade to Mumbai Indians was focused on getting the captaincy as moved from the Gujarat Titans. The franchise management after consultations agreed to Pandya’s condition and then informed Sharma about it during the World Cup. Sharma had by then left it to the franchise to decide the team’s future.
Coming back to Mumbai Indians' announcement of Hardik Pandya's appointment, MI's global head of performance Mahela Jayawardene spoke about how the decision was taken to make their roster future-ready. In a press release on Friday, Jayawardene stated, “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.”
