Hardik Pandya's wife Natasa Stankovic reacts to his appointment as captain of Mumbai Indians franchise for IPL 2024
Hardik Pandya's wife, Natasa Stankovic, reacted after he replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise for IPL 2024.
Hardik was an integral part of the Mumbai Indians side ever since his IPL debut in 2015 until 2021. However, MI management released him from the squad ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, where they retained Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard.
One of the new franchises, Gujarat Titans (GT), swiftly signed him after that and appointed him skipper. The move paid rich dividends for GT as Hardik delivered the IPL trophy for them in their debut season. They also finished as runner-ups in the second season.
Mumbai Indians endured a horror campaign in IPL 2022, where they ended up at the bottom position. They improved in 2023 by reaching the play offs. MI stunned everyone last month by bringing Hardik Pandya back into their squad from GT in an all-money trade. Today, they replaced Rohit Sharma and made Hardik the skipper for the upcoming season.
Natasa Stankovic was elated by the development and expressed her reaction by sharing an image on her Instagram story. She wrote:
"Shine my (star emoji)."
"We welcome Hardik Pandya as the new captain of MI"- Mahela Jayawardene
Mumbai Indians' Global Head of Performance, Mahela Jayawardene, paid tribute to Rohit Sharma's exceptional contributions and achievements for the franchise as a leader over the years after the end of his tenure. In an official statement of the MI franchise, Jayawardene said:
"We express our gratitude to Rohit Sharma for his exceptional leadership; his tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 has been nothing short of extraordinary. His leadership has not only brought unparalleled success to the team but has also solidified his place as one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL.
Shedding light on franchise's vision and plans for the future, he continued:
"Under his guidance, MI became one of the most successful and loved teams ever. We will look forward to his guidance and experience on and off the field to further strengthen MI. We welcome Hardik Pandya as the new captain of MI and wish him all the very best."
Do you think MI made the right decision? Let us know in the comments section below.