[Watch] Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya starts batting practice ahead of IPL 2024
Mumba Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya has commenced his batting practice sessions after recovering from injury ahead of IPL 2024. The star all-rounder has been out of action since October 2023, when he got injured during an ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh in Pune.
He suffered an ankle injury when trying to stop the ball during his follow-through while bowling. Hardik subsequently missed the rest of the matches in the World Cup, in which India lost in the final to Australia.
He has completed his rehabilitation and has recently started practicing batting in the nets again. Hardik Pandya took to his official Instagram handle on Thursday and gave fans a glimpse of his batting session by sharing a reel. He captioned it:
"Back at it 🤙"
"Handing Hardik Pandya the captaincy is only going to benefit the Mumbai Indians" - Sunil Gavaskar
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar recently backed the MI management's decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya at the helm. He felt that the move would benefit both the Mumbai Indians as well as the former skipper.
Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar explained his opinion on the matter, saying:
"Handing Hardik the captaincy is only going to benefit the Mumbai Indians. They have now given the freedom to Rohit to go and express himself freely at the top of the order. Hardik can then come at No. 3 or No. 5 and help them post totals of 200-plus consistently."
Gavaskar also suggested that MI took the tough decision with an eye on the future as Rohit is at the fag end of his career. He added:
"Look, they have always thought about the future of the franchise. Rohit Sharma is already 36 years old and also faces immense pressure being the captain of India for all three formats. They have tried to reduce some of that burden and give that responsibility on the young shoulders of Hardik Pandya."
Do you agree with Sunil Gavaskar's views above? Let us know in the comments section below.