The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla revealed that members of the board had reached out to Hardik Pandya when a row broke out after he replaced Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians captain. The all-rounder was named MI’s new skipper, replacing Rohit Sharma after he was traded from GT. This did not sit well with the fans as Pandya was subjected to social media trolling and booing across venues during IPL 2024.
‘Neither did Rohit Sharma provoke…’
In an interview posted on UPT20’s YouTube handle handle, the BCCI VP noted that while Rohit’s fan base did not like the move to replace the Hitman with Pandya as the captain, the matter was done. He revealed that certain members from the board had spoken to both Hardik and Rohit, asking them not to worry. Shulka further heaped praise on Hardik for being mature about the situation, while also noting that Sharma hadn’t provoked anyone.
“When such incidents happen, people within the BCCI do reach out to players not to worry. In Hardik’s case, Rohit Sharma’s fan base did not like it. But the matter is done. Neither did Rohit Sharma provoke anybody, and Hardik always knew this could happen and was mature,” the BCCI vice-president said.
MI under Hardik in IPL 2024 & 2025
Hardik’s return as MI captain did not end well as the team finished at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2024. They managed to win just 4 out of 14 games. Pandya faced sharp criticism, both online and offline, to an extent where he was booed even at MI’s home ground – the Wankhede stadium.
However, Hardik Pandya-led MI bounced back strongly in IPL 2025, winning 8 out of 14 games to finish 4th on the points table. After defeating Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator, they narrowly missed out on booking a spot in the final after losing to PBKS by 5 wickets in Qualifier 2.
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