The Mumbai Indians (MI) team’s captain for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season is Hardik Pandya. Hardik Pandya has been added by former Australia opener Matthew Hayden to his all-time greatest IPL playing XI. After suffering an injury during the ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh, Hardik Pandya has not played in a competitive game of cricket. After a couple of successful seasons at the Gujarat Titans (GT), he will captain the Mumbai-based franchise when he returns to action in the IPL in 2024.
Hardik Pandya’s IPL career has been nothing short of extraordinary, as he won the championship in both his player and captain debuts. In the 2015 IPL season, he made his IPL debut for the Mumbai Indians, captained by Rohit Sharma. Throughout his career, Hardik Pandya has won five IPL championships: four as a player with MI and one as captain of GT. In the Gujarat Titans’ 2022 inaugural season, he guided the team to their first IPL championship. The following season, he led the team to the finals, but the Chennai Super Kings, captained by MS Dhoni, defeated them in the summit match.
In an episode of Star Sports titled “Incredible 16 of the IPL,” Matthew Hayden was asked to choose his all-time best IPL starting eleven. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are both excellent fielders, and Jadeja offers a left-arm alternative, so Hayden included them in his starting XI.
This season, Hardik Pandya will be the Mumbai Indians’ leader.
The supporters were upset that their most successful captain was being replaced; hence, they did not like the announcement of Hardik Pandya as the new captain. After taking over as team captain in 2013, Rohit Sharma guided the Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles. He was abruptly fired without warning. After spending two seasons helping the Ahmedabad-based team win their first championship, Hardik Pandya went back to his former residence.
Rohit Sharma is still a player for the Mumbai Indians, and the team and head coach Mark Boucher believe that taking him out of the captaincy will bring out the best in him as a batter. As captain of the Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma won five IPL championships. As a player, he also won a trophy in 2009 with the Deccan Chargers. To lead the squad and replace one of the competition’s most successful captains, Rohit Sharma, would be a difficult task for Hardik Pandya.
It is anticipated that the 16th Indian Premier League season will begin in the third week of March and last through the final week of May. The goal for the Mumbai Indians this season will be to win their sixth IPL championship and take back the title of greatest and most successful team in the IPL.