IPL 2024 | "Rohit will be there if to help out": Hardik Pandya ahead of the league

MI’s Hardik Pandya (left) and Rohit Sharma celebrate the wicket of RCB’s Parthiv Patel at Wankhede in 2019. Pic/AFP

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya, who will be shouldering the leadership responsibility in the franchise for the first time, has revealed that he is yet to speak with former MI captain Rohit Sharma, who helped the team clinch the IPL trophy a record five time times.

Yet to meet Rohit

"He [Rohit] has been travelling and playing [with the Indian team]. We haven't seen each other for the last couple of months. We are all professionals and by the time the team come together and once he comes in, we will definitely have a chat," Pandya remarked at MI's pre-season press conference on Monday.

The India all-rounder made his IPL debut with MI in the 2015 edition. He then led Gujarat Titans to a triumph in 2022.

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Hardik Pandya

Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, Pandya returned to his former team in a new role, replacing Rohit as MI captain. Fit-again Pandya, who injured his ankle during the ODI World Cup game against Bangladesh in Pune last October, remarked that he will utilise Rohit's expertise during the T20 tournament, starting on March 22.

"It won't be any different, because he [Rohit] will be there to help out if I need his help. He is the captain of the Indian team, which helps me because what this team have achieved, it has achieved under him. From now, it will be about carrying forward what he has achieved.

‘It won't be awkward'

"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," Pandya explained.

MI will start their campaign against Hardik's former team, Gujarat Titans (led by Shubman Gill) in Ahmedabad on March 24.

Going by Pandya's words, Mumbai Indians's opponents had better watch out. "First of all, it is good to be back. It's a surreal feeling for me knowing that my whole life changed after I made my debut in 2015 and [I am] playing on my favourite ground [Wankhede Stadium]. I will be an all-rounder and will be bowling this season, trying to finish as many games as possible," Pandya remarked.

Hardik said he is excited to have speedster Jasprit Bumrah in the MI camp again: "Jassi [Jasprit] has been our No. 1 bowler and has been a champion cricketer. Last year, they [MI] did miss him. I'm excited to have him back full throttle and him guiding the youngsters in the camp."