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MI made a huge call to trade Hardik Pandya and appointing him as captain.© X (Twitter)
Mumbai Indians (MI)’s controversial move to replace Rohit Sharma as the captain has been the talk of town in the lead up to the new Indian Premier League (IPL) season. MI made a huge call to trade Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans, before naming the all-rounder as the captain of the franchise. The decision came as a huge shock to many as the franchise won five titles under Rohit’s leadership. Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn feels that the move to replace Rohit with Hardik could prove to be a challenging one for the team.
“I think it will be challenging – the whole dynamics of leaving Mumbai and then coming back to Mumbai. I hope they had some sort of a camp a month before the IPL. So, anything that’s bothering anyone kind of gets ironed out before the first game,” the former RCB pacer told news agency PTI.
However, Steyn expects everyone, including Rohit and Hardik, to deal the matter with professionalism.
“You’ve got big personalities, guys who have done the decision-making before and now in a different role. It might be that little needle that we might not be able to see or hear on TV. But, these international cricketers know how to put aside their ego, and I think Mumbai will be just fine,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hardik promised MI fans that they will try to play a brand of cricket that everyone will be proud of.
“The feeling of wearing this colour is very special for me. The journey started here, coming back home and playing is always going to be special. We will make sure we will play a brand of cricket which all will be proud of and at the same point of time it’s going to be a ride no one will forget,” Pandya said in a video posted by MI.
Hardik returns to MI after playing two seasons for GT, leading the franchise to their maiden IPL title in their debut season in the league back in 2022.
Last season, he guided them to a second place finish as GT lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final.
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