Watch: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya performs puja in team's dressing room ahead of IPL 2024

Newly-appointed Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya joined the team camp on Monday and offered puja in the dressing room ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. Having spent two seasons with the Gujarat Titans in 2022 and 2023, Pandya completed a return to Mumbai Indians through an all-cash trade deal ahead of the upcoming season. Mumbai Indians acquired Pandya’s services by paying Rs 15 crores to Gujarat Titans. The all-rounder also took over captaincy duties from Rohit Sharma.

In a video shared by Mumbai Indians, Pandya can be seen arranging a mandir and adorning the deity’s photo with a garland. After this, Mumbai Indians’ head coach, Mark Boucher, also performed a ritual for good luck. Pandya was also seen offering sweets to the deity before embracing others.

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चला सुरु करूया 🙏🥥#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/XBs5eJFdfS

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 11, 2024

Pandya is making a comeback to a major tournament for the first time since sustaining an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh last year. This sidelined him from competitive cricket until earlier this month, when he turned up for Reliance in a DY Patil T20 tournament match against ONGC, and finished with figures of 2/22. He also underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru before starting his training in Baroda.

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Pandya also hit the nets and practiced extensive range hitting. A video of that too was shared by Mumbai Indians on their social media channel.

🎙️🎧 ASMR | Hardik in the nets 😍#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/Y2QsDhBX6J

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 12, 2024

Rohit has led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles over the years. Many former cricketers and experts felt that the decision to give Hardik the mantle of the side may not be a bad one as it would allow Rohit to focus on his batting.

Talking about the big change in the leadership, Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance, Mumbai Indians said, “It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season.”

Mumbai Indians will open their IPL 2024 campaign against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on 24 March. Hardik’s form and fitness will be watched closely ahead of the T20 World Cup that starts days after the IPL season concludes.

Mumbai Indians’ squad for IPL 2024:

Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar, Dewald Brevis, Ishan Kishan, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, N. Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Piyush Chawla, Rohit Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Shams Mulani, Surya Kumar Yadav, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madhushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Namandhir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma