Even before the start of the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the excitement has started increasing. Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya changed his side even before the auction, he left Gujarat through trading and joined Mumbai Indians. The question in everyone’s mind is why Hardik left the captaincy of Gujarat, when the first two seasons were much better for him. So is he going to become the next captain of Mumbai Indians, the questions are not limited only to IPL but its links also extend to the captaincy of Team India.
What is the impact of Hardik’s decision?
Hardik Pandya returned to the cricket field after injury in 2022, he returned as captain with Gujarat Titans. In the very first season he won the trophy for his team, while in the second season the team reached the finals. It was because of Hardik’s better captaincy that he became the captain of Team India in the T-20 format. He also captained the team in some series and was successful.
It is clear that if Hardik Pandya is going to Mumbai Indians, then his eyes will be on captaincy only. And like Gujarat Titans, if his captaincy graph is successful here too, then he will be a full contender for captaincy in Team India not only in T20 but also in white ball format. Because along with IPL, a transition is also going on with Team India, where everyone’s eyes are fixed on another leader after Rohit Sharma.
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Hardik Pandya will try to repeat the feat with Mumbai, which he did with Gujarat Titans. Since Mumbai Indians is a five-time champion and a big IPL franchise, there will be pressure on Hardik and everyone’s eyes will be on him. But he would definitely like to change these circumstances in his favour.
Questions on Rohit Sharma’s future also
A lot of Hardik Pandya’s journey from Mumbai Indians to the captaincy of Team India also depends on the future of Rohit Sharma. Rohit Sharma is 35 years old, he has been away from T20 International for the last one year. This is the reason why Hardik Pandya has got the full responsibility of T20 International, although Rohit Sharma can be seen in the T20 World Cup to be held next year.
Some time back, it was reported that BCCI has asked Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli about their T20 career and has handed over everything to them. Even though Team India missed out on winning the ODI World Cup, but now both the giants have one last chance for the T20 World Cup. If both of them want, they can also play the World Cup of June 2024.
That is, any major transition in Team India seems to happen only after that, in such a situation, it will depend on which format Rohit Sharma says goodbye to. If Hardik Pandya is in the race for captaincy, then when and how is this responsibility handed over to him? . It is noteworthy that before Hardik Pandya, players like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah were in the race for captaincy, but Hardik’s luck with Gujarat Titans and his better form changed all the equations.
