Former Indian National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel has made a strong statement, saying that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be under tremendous pressure after replacing Rohit Sharma as captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI ) before the Indian Premier League. (IPL) 2024.
Hardik Pandya was traded from Gujarat Titans (GT) to 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 when he started his career. with the Mumbai-based franchise ahead of its launch 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 in his debut season as captain. He also did a great job in his second season as captain and led GT to the final. Thanks to his strong performance in IPL, he was also given the leadership role in the Indian white-ball team.
Meanwhile, when Hardik Pandya joined Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of IPL 2024, many expected him to play alongside five-time IPL title-winning captain Rohit Sharma. However, that was not the case as MI announced Hardik Pandya as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma.
Mumbai Indians (MI) cited the transition as the reason behind Rohit Sharma’s removal as captain and it did not go down well with MI fans. Fans lashed out at the franchise for removing Rohit from the captaincy despite him being the most successful captain in IPL history.
It will be a challenge: Parthiv Patel on Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma
In an interaction with Jio Cinema, Parthiv Patel stated that Hardik Pandya had a great career with Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League.
“Of course, his (Pandya’s) captaincy is a talking point. The way he led the team (Gujarat Titans), winning the championship in the first year, finishing on the last ball the 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 has been deserved for a long time.
“For MI, qualification is not a success; It’s about winning championships. “That’s something they should have thought about, and it seems like a thoughtful decision to incorporate it, looking toward the future.”
The former wicketkeeper-batsman further said that Hardik will be under pressure and it will be a challenge for him to replace Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain.
“There will be a lot of pressure on Hardik. It will be a challenge; replacing a five-time title-winning captain and a team that is used to playing a certain way for 10 years.
“And this changing of the guard will be a challenge for Hardik and for the players who are so used to playing with Rohit Sharma.”
The BCCI has released the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 schedule and Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 24 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. in Ahmedabad.