[Watch] 'Awkward hug' between MI's Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma goes viral ahead of IPL 2024

Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain ahead of the IPL 2024.

Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya and veteran batter Rohit Sharma were spotted hugging in the MI camp ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opener against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on March 24.

Ahead of the IPL 2024 mini-auction, Hardik was traded from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal and the all-rounder was named the new leader of the franchise as well replacing Rohit. This change in captaincy sparked huge controversy as cricket fans started questioning MI’s decision as they felt that Sharma was treated unfairly.

After the change in leadership role, many rumors were spread about Hardik’s differences with Rohit. Ahead of the IPL 2024, MI posted a video on their social media handles where Hardik was seen walking towards the five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit to share a hug, followed by a conversation that stirred a few laughs. The incident was captured on March 20, Wednesday. In the video, it can be clearly seen Rohit was hesitating for a hug and was going for a handshake instead, but later hugged the new captain awkwardly.

Here is the viral video:

𝟰𝟱 🫂 𝟯𝟯#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians | @hardikpandya7 @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/eyKSq7WwCV

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 20, 2024

He is going to be there to help me: Hardik Pandya on Rohit Sharma

Ahead of their opening fixture against last season’s runners-up GT on March 24, MI hosted their press conference and Hardik was asked about the leadership transition to which he confidently replied that Rohit is like his big brother who will always have a shoulder around him.

“First of all, it won’t be any different because he is going to be there to help me out, if I need any help. At the same time, he is the captain of the Indian team, which helps me because this team, what he has achieved under his captaincy, from now onwards, I want to carry forward what he has achieved,” Hardik Pandya said.

“It won’t be awkward or anything different. It will be a nice experience. I have played all my career under his captaincy. I know he is going to have a hand on my shoulder always, throughout the season,” he added.

However, Pandya didn’t utter a word when he was asked about a captaincy clause being in his contract, and head coach Mark Boucher also remained silent from questions on the captaincy transition as well.

MI updated IPL 2024 squad:

Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma, Kwena Maphaka, Luke Wood

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