Will Hardik Pandya bowl in the IPL 2024? MI captain reveals

Hardik Pandya will captain Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024.

New Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya has revealed whether he will bowl or not in the upcoming IPL 2024. Pandya has taken over the captaincy of the five-time IPL champions from Rohit Sharma.

Notably, Rohit Sharma captained the MI team from 2013-2023 and won the IPL title five times in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. However, in the last three seasons, MI only managed to make it into the playoffs once in 2023. MI also finished at the 10th spot in the points table for the first time in IPL 2022.

The Mumbai Indians had traded in Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal ahead of IPL 2024 and the all-rounder was named captain of the franchise as well. This was a hugely contentious decision as the MI fanbase reacted unfavorably to the decision as they felt that Rohit Sharma was treated unfairly.

Also read: [Watch] Rohit Sharma hits MI nets for the first time after being removed as captain ahead of IPL 2024

“’I’ve been fit since January”- Hardik Pandya reveals that he’ll bowl in the IPL 2024

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya returned to action in the DY Patil T20 Cup since recovering from the ankle injury he had suffered during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Pandya had twisted his ankle during the game against Bangladesh in Pune and was later ruled out of the tournament.

He missed quite a few series as well including the Australia T20Is, South Africa tour, and home T20I series against Afghanistan.

Ahead of the IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya has declared himself fit to bowl as he returns to captain Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024.

“Yes, I will be bowling. My injury in [the] World Cup was a freak injury. It had nothing to do with my past injuries, it had nothing to do with my fitness. When I got fit, the Afghanistan [T20I] series had just started [in January]. I’ve been fit since then, but there were no games to play,” Pandya was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

“My injury, from day one, showed that I’m going to be out of the World Cup, but playing for India has always been special, especially in a World Cup. [So] we pushed [for] ten days – we knew that it’s an uphill task to be fit for the World Cup semi-finals or finals. When we pushed, I kind of triggered my injury [further], and the injury became a little longer,” he added.

MI will open their IPL 2024 journey against Hardik’s former franchise, Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24.  

Also Read: IPL 2024: Head coaches of all 10 teams participating in the tournament

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