In a shocking twist in the events, Hardik Pandya, newly appointed captain of Mumbai Indians may miss the entire season of IPL 2024 due to an ankle injury. He left the recently concluded ICC ODI’s Men’s World Cup midway due to an ankle injury. Reports suggest he might miss the upcoming T20I series with Afghanistan and the IPL 2024 season.
Pandya, 30, was recently traded in by Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans where he led the side to the IPL glory in the year 2022 and finished as the runner-up in 2023. Hardik Pandya had an impressive performance in both years at Gujarat Titans where he scored 833 runs in 30 innings, with an average of 41.65 and a strike rate of 133.49. He took 11 wickets for them with an economy of 8.1. He was recently named as the captain of Mumbai Indians which created waves in the cricketing fraternity.
As per Mumbai Indians team management, the appointment of Hardik Pandya as the captain of Mumbai Indians is a part of their future planning and they thanked Rohit, the joint-most-successful captain in the history of IPL alongside Chennai Super Kings’ M.S. Dhoni who both have lifted the coveted IPL trophy 5 times each.
Hardik Pandya’s absence from IPL 2024 would mean that Rohit might captain the side again or is it an opportunity for the likes of Jasprit Bumrah or Suryakumar Yadav? We will wait and watch for any new developments in this regard.