Mumbai Indians (MI) Global Head of Cricket Mahela Jayawardene gave the example of former captain Sachin Tendulkar in fan’s reaction over Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as captain for IPL 2024. Tendulkar led MI from the inaugural 2008 season but he played his final season under Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma in 2013 as well. Incidentally, it was also Mumbai’s breakthrough year, with the franchise winning their maiden IPL title also.
And, now all-rounder Hardik Pandya returned to MI in an all-cash deal with the Gujarat Titans (GT) and also subsequently made the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. The move didn’t go down well among MI fans, and the former Sri Lankan captain said the reactions were fair also.
However, speaking to Jio Cinema during the IPL 2024 auction, Mahela Jayawardene said, “We are trying to reset ourselves and that’s a decision we had to make at some point. Everyone is emotional and we have to respect that. Having Rohit on and off the field to guide the next generation is very important. Mumbai has that respect. Even with Sachin, he gave the captaincy and played with youngsters. I’m very excited and I’m sure the fans will be too.”
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Mahela Jayawardene also praised Hardik Pandya and the value he brings to the side as a player and leader. Hardik was part of MI from 2015 to 2021 and helped them win four of their five IPL titles. He then moved to Gujarat Titans and led the side with tremendous success, with a title in 2022 and runner-up in the last season. On the other hand, Rohit led MI to their five titles.
“He (Hardik) will bring what he brings as an all-rounder. It’ll be something different – with his experience in Gujarat while he led the team very well. As franchise, even though it’s some tough and emotional decisions we have made. We will keep fighting for those wins and trophies. We have a good skillset to do that,” added Jayawardene.
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And, Mahela Jayawardene was delighted at their first two purchases, Gerald Coetzee and Dilshan Madushanka, of the 2024 IPL auction as well. While the South African pacer was bought at ₹5 crore, they got the Sri Lankan left-arm seamer for ₹4.60 crore as well.
“These were two talented skilful bowlers. We feel they have the skillset. In the World Cup they showed what they can do in Indian conditions. With Bumrah they can do well, with Malinga as the bowling coach. He (Madushanka) has himself proved that he is a good bowler. We still have Behrendorff but we feel that Dilshan has got special skills and gives us a lot of options. That’s something that we have planned going forward with Indian batters – we can go with foreign bowlers. We can use Boom (Bumrah) iina different role as well because he is far better in an attacking role,” concluded Mahela Jayawardene.
