CHENNAI: In what was his first media interaction since being ruled out of the ODI World Cup last year, Hardik Pandya, the newly appointed Mumbai Indians captain, reaffirmed that his predecessor Rohit Sharma's hand will be on his shoulders through the upcoming IPL season.
Sharma, who had been MI captain since 2013, was removed from the position after MI brought back Pandya from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal. Pandya was named the captain of the five-time champions shortly after. It also put a cloud over who will lead the country in the shortest format, especially with the World Cup around.
Pandya had captained India in T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup, but Sharma had made a comeback in the format earlier in January. Ahead of the Rajkot Test against England, BCCI secretary Jay Shah cleared the air and announced that Sharma will lead the country in the upcoming global event scheduled to be played in United States and West Indies immediately after the IPL. This, once again, set off rumors about a rift between the two senior India cricketers.
On Monday, in the pre-tournament press conference, Pandya said that he expects the dressing room environment to remain the same. "It will not be any different, he will always be there to help me. You mentioned that he is the captain of the Indian team, which helps me because this team, what it has achieved, it has achieved under him," he told the media in Mumbai on Monday. "...from now onwards, it is (about) what he has achieved, I just have to carry forward that. I don't think it will be any awkward or any different. It will be a nice feeling because we have been playing for 10 years. I have played my whole career under him and he is going to have his hand on my shoulder throughout the season," Pandya added.
When asked if he has spoken with Sharma, Pandya said, "Yes and no. He has been travelling and playing," before adding, "We are professionals, by the time the team comes together...we have been playing cricket...it has only been a couple of months that we have not seen each other. Whenever the IPL starts, which is from today since we have the practice game, once he comes, we will definitely have a chat." Sharma joined the camp in the team hotel later in the evening.
While the 30-year-old admitted and acknowledged the backlash and reactions from fans after he left the GT captaincy to take over from Sharma in MI, Pandya said he wants to focus on the job at hand. "The backlash...To be very honest we respect fans but at the same time, we focus on the sport and what is required. I focus on the controllables and I do not focus on what I cannot control. At the same time, we are very grateful to fans. A lot of fame and love comes from them and they have every right and I respect their opinion," he said.
The 30-year-old all-rounder whose fitness and form will be crucial not just for MI, but also for India in the T20 World Cup, said that he is keen to feature in all the games and will look to roll his arm as well. "I have no issues with my body, I plan to play all the games. In IPL, I have not missed many games anyway. Technically, I was out for three months. It was a freak injury and it had nothing to do with my earlier injuries. I tried to stop the ball and ended up getting injured," said Pandya, who had injured his ankle during the World Cup game against Bangladesh in Pune.
