Hardik Pandya will be under pressure after replacing Rohit Sharma as captain, claims Parthiv Patel

Former India National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel has made a blunt claim, saying that the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be under tremendous pressure after replacing Rohit Sharma as the skipper of the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Hardik Pandya was traded from Gujarat Titans (GT) to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in a shocking INR 15 crore trade deal ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. It was a homecoming for the all-rounder as he started his career with the Mumbai-based franchise before being released ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Hardik Pandya joined newcomers Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and guided them to the title win in his debut season as captain. He also did a great job in his second season as captain and led GT to the final. On the back of his strong IPL performance, he was also handed the leadership role in the Indian white-ball team.

Meanwhile, as Hardik Pandya joined Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of IPL 2024 many expected him to play under the 5-time IPL title-winning captain Rohit Sharma. However, that wasn’t the case as MI announced Hardik Pandya as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma.

Mumbai Indians (MI) cited transition as the reason behind the removal of Rohit Sharma as captain and it didn’t go down well with the MI fans. The fans lashed out at the franchise for removing Rohit from captaincy despite being the joint-most successful skipper in the history of IPL.

It will be challenging – Parthiv Patel on Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma

In an interaction with Jio Cinema, Parthiv Patel stated that Hardik Pandya had a great run with Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League.

“Of course, his (Pandya’s) captaincy is a talking point. The way he led the side (Gujarat Titans), winning the championship in the first year, a last-ball finish in the final next year, it was a great run at Gujarat Titans,” Parthiv told Jio Cinema.

“Hardik has moved on and is now back in Mumbai, where his cricket started. There will be a lot of expectations from MI because the trophy is long due.

“For MI, qualifying is not a success; it’s about winning championships. That’s something they must have thought, and it seems like a well-thought decision to get him on board, looking at the future.”

The former wicketkeeper-batsman further said Hardik will be under pressure and it will be challenging for him to replace Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain.

“There will be a lot of pressure on Hardik. It will be challenging; replacing a five-time title-winning captain and a team that is used to playing a certain way for 10 years.

“And, this change of guard will be challenging for Hardik and for the players who are so used to playing under Rohit Sharma.”

The BCCI has released the schedule of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and Mumbai Indians (MI) are set to take on Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 24 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.