Rohit Sharma says a big NO to Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians as the team assembles for it's 1st closed door match

By CA Junior Staff

Updated - 24 Mar 2024, 09:49 PM

Rohit Sharma Hardik Pandya Mumbai Indians IPL 2024
Rohit Sharma Hardik Pandya. Image Credits: Twitter

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Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been taking specialized training sessions including simulated net sessions as part of his pre-season program ahead of the 2024 edition of Indian Premier League. Rohit will not be captaining the 5-time champions for the first time since 2013 when Mumbai claimed their first-ever IPL title by beating Chennai Super Kings in the finale.

Rohit Sharma was sacked from captaincy right before the mini-player auction for the 2024 edition held in Dubai’s Coca-Cola arena on December 19th. The reason for his sacking was MI’s decision to bring back all-rounder Hardik Pandya as part of a trade deal with Gujarat Titans and appoint the Baroda-man as the new captain heading into IPL 2024.

That particular move created a lot of stir within the MI fanbase who constantly asked the franchise to re-appoint Rohit Sharma, the captain who made the team – most successful in the tournament.

What type of training is Rohit Sharma going through?

After a very hectic first 3 months of 2024 where he captained the Indian team towards an emphatic 4-1 victory against England in a 5-match Test series, Rohit Sharma has joined the Mumbai camp. This time around he has no pressure of captaincy or leading the side towards the playoffs and he will rather focus on his contribution with the bat, something head coach Mark Boucher has pointed out previously.

And for that reason, Rohit Sharma is on a “customized training program”, wherein he is undertaking simulated/match set-up net sessions, mobility as well as strength & conditioning sessions. He has been going through this training regime for the last 3 days to mainly focus on his transition from red-ball cricket to the shortest format. Therefore, Rohit has also remained absent from MI’s intra-squad matches that were held yesterday.

“Official update on Rohit Sharma by Mumbai Indians: “Rohit Sharma who joined the squad on Monday, is on a customized training program that involves simulated net sessions, mobility and strength and conditioning sessions, for the past 3 days, hence stayed back in Mumbai to focus on his pre-season program. Rohit did not take part in the practice game held today.” #IPL2024″ – renowned journalist Amol Karhadkar wrote via X. 
This particular edition becomes a lot more important for the 36-year-old due to the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to commence a week after IPL’s conclusion on May 26. He will once again be captaining the Men in Blue in the tournament, set to take place in the USA and West Indies from June 1 onwards.
It will be Rohit Sharma’s 4th time leading India in an ICC event with his track record in the past 3 tournaments being very good but quite underwhelming as well.
His first assignment – the T20 WC 2022 ended with a 10-wicket semi-final defeat to England, then the WTC 2023 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final losses against Australia. He will look to gain some good form for the 20-team T20 event so that he can give India the type of starts he had been giving in last year’s 50-over WC.

Mumbai Indians full squad for IPL 2024

Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma. 

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Hardik Pandya ICC T20 World Cup 2024 India National Cricket Team IPL 2024 Mumbai Indians (MI) Rohit Sharma

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