Hardik Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians on condition that he would be named captain: Report

All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was recently named Mumbai Indians (MI) captain ahead of IPL 2024, had reportedly set a condition that he would only return to his former side if he was given captaincy duties by the team management. Pandya on Friday took over as skipper of five-time champions MI from Rohit Sharma. However, this move has not gone well with fans and on Saturday, MI lost 400k followers in the aftermath of this.

Also read: Why Mumbai Indians went with Hardik Pandya as captain for IPL 2024 over Rohit Sharma?

According to a report in The Indian Express, Pandya had informed the owners of MI that he would only return if he was named captain of the franchise. Following consultations, the management of the franchise accepted Pandya’s demand and had informed Rohit Sharma of the decision during the ODI World Cup.

After two seasons with Gujarat Titans (GT), Pandya returned to MI after a blockbuster trade deal in late November.

“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,” Mahela Jayawardene, MI’s global head of performance had said in a release.

“We express our gratitude to Rohit Sharma for his exceptional leadership; his tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 has been nothing short of extraordinary. His leadership has not only brought unparalleled success to the team but has also solidified his place as one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL,” the release further stated.

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Pandya made his IPL debut in MI’s game against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2015. He had played a knock of 16 from six balls in that game to help MI win by 18 runs.

Pandya would go onto play seven seasons for MI from 2015 to 2021, before moving to Gujarat Titans (GT), where he would lead them to their maiden title in their debut IPL season in 2022.

Pandya led GT to the final once again in IPL 2023, where they lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a rain-curtailed match in Ahmedabad.