Hardik Pandya's contribution to MI will never be ignored or unseen: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma, the skipper of the Mumbai Indians, has wished his former teammate, Hardik Pandya, luck for his new role as captain of the Gujarat Titans for the 2022 IPL season. Rohit also complimented Hardik, adding that the all-rounder had a significant impact on the Mumbai Indians’ success, but that captaining another team would be a different job.

Hardik Pandya, who was not retained by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, has been appointed captain of the Gujarat Titans for the forthcoming season, despite the fact that the Baroda all-rounder has no previous leadership experience in the IPL.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said in a press conference, “Yes, I mean, look, Hardik was a key member for us without a doubt. But again it is the rules that don’t allow us to keep all the players. His contribution to this franchise will never be ignored or unseen. I think he played a huge role for us to get that success whatever we had while he was here.”

The Mumbai Indians were allowed to retain only four players, just like all other teams in the competition. Despite having several match-winners, they were forced to make the painful choice to let Hardik go, along with some other important players.

We also have some match-winners: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma also mentioned that the existing group contains a few match-winners who should be watched out for this season. He said: “We really had some match-winners in the last squad that we had but in this cycle too, we have some match-winners which I am not going to reveal. Hopefully, you can see them during the tournament and see what they are capable of.”

Pandya, who was relegated to Grade C in the BCCI’s annual contracts list, reportedly underwent a thorough inspection at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in which he bowled, and successfully cleared the fitness test.

The 15th edition of the IPL will kick off on March 26 (Saturday) with a match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.