'No awkwardness' - Hardik Pandya breaks silence on relationship with Rohit Sharma after becoming MI captain
Published - 18 Mar 2024, 03:56 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:28 AM
Hardik Pandya is confident Rohit Sharma will continue to guide him even as he looks to start a new journey in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After playing for Gujarat Titans in the last two seasons of the IPL, the India allrounder has returned to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024. The franchise secured his services through a trade deal before announcing him as the captain of the team. Hardik Pandya has replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain and will have his task cut out as he aims to end Mumbai Indians’ winless run in recent years.
Rohit Sharma is one of the most decorated captains in the history of the IPL. He led Mumbai Indians from 2013 to 2023 and enjoyed unprecedented success as a captain. Under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians became the first team to win the IPL three, four as well as five times. However, he could not guide the team to the final or the title since the 2020 triumph and the franchise decided to sack him before IPL 2024.
Hardik Pandya on his relationship with Rohit Sharma
Many believe that the relationship between Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya has turned a bit sour after Mumbai Indians’ decision to change the captain. Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh only added fuel to the fire by rubbishing head coach Mark Boucher’s remarks about the captaincy change. While Boucher said that the decision was solely based on cricketing reasons, Ritika denied it.
However, Hardik Pandya has insisted that all is well between him and his predecessor as he hoped that Rohit Sharma would continue to ‘have his hand on his shoulder’. Speaking to the media, Hardik Pandya said there is no awkwardness between him and the former Mumbai captain.
“Yes and No. He has been travelling non-stop,” said Hardik Pandya when asked whether he has spoken to Rohit after becoming Mumbai captain before adding:
“First of all, it won’t be any different because he is going to be there to help me out, if I need any help. At the same time, he is the captain of the Indian team, which helps me because this team, what he has achieved under his captaincy, from now onwards, I want to carry forward what he has achieved,” Hardik Pandya said.
“It won’t be awkward or anything different. It will be a nice experience. I have played all my career under his captaincy. I know he is going to have a hand on my shoulder always, throughout the season,” he added.
Meanwhile, IPL 2024 is scheduled to be played from March 22. Mumbai Indians will open their campaign against Gujarat Titans on March 24.
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Mukesh Singh is an Author and Editor at Cricketaddictor. Mukesh has been associated with the organiz... Read more
