Five-time champions Mumbai Indians signed Hardik Pandya for an undisclosed fee ahead of IPL 2024. The former Gujarat Titans skipper was also handed the baton to lead the team as Mumbai took the bold decision of removing Rohit Sharma as captain, who led the team to five IPL trophies.
Soon after the decision was made, MI veterans Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah made cryptic posts on their Instagram account while Rohit's wife Ritika Sajdeh called out head coach Mark Boucher and stated that the former South Africa international wasn't telling the truth.
However, things have calmed down as none of the players opened up on the matter since then. However, ahead of the 17th edition of the cash-rich league, former Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketer AB de Villiers opened up and called it a ‘big controversy’ and added that he can't wait to see Hardik Pandya back in action.
Also Read - Hardik Pandya joins Mumbai Indians camp
“Incredibly successful team of the IPL. They have won five titles. Big controversy over the last few months was that Hardik Pandya coming in as new captain in place of Rohit Sharma. They seem to be happy though. They seemed to have moved on. It's great to have Hardik Pandya in blue at his home team Mumbai Indians. They will be starting against Gujarat Titans, how ironic is that,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
“Hardik Pandya - they needed him to come back; otherwise, the balance just didn't look as strong. I think Hardik is going to play a huge role. Hopefully, he will be able to hold the ball in hand and be the all-rounder that Mumbai Indians need him to be,” he added.
Notably, Mumbai will begin their campaign on March 23 at Narendra Modi Stadium and ahead of that, the majority of the players have assembled at the Wankhede Stadium. Rohit joined the squad on March 13, while Jasprit Bumrah is yet to join. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav is ruled out of the first couple of matches of the season.
Also Read - Suryakumar Yadav doubtful for first two games of Mumbai Indians
from IPL Live Score | IPL News, IPL 2024 Updates, Squads & Results - CricTracker