[Watch] Hardik Pandya hugs Rohit Sharma during MI training session ahead of IPL 2024

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya hugged former captain Rohit Sharma when the duo met each other on the field during the training session on Wednesday, March 20.

After leading the team for eleven IPL seasons - from 2013 to 2023 - Rohit Sharma has been replaced at the helm by all-rounder Hardik Pandya who joined the Mumbai Indians as a 21-year-old youngster in 2015.

Pandya spent seven seasons under Rohit Sharma's captaincy at Mumbai before joining the Gujarat Titans ahead of the 2022 IPL. The Men in Blue who had just reached one final ahead of season six, won a staggering five IPL titles in just eight seasons under Rohit Sharma's leadership.

Here is the wholesome video of Sharma and Pandya shared on the official social media handle of the franchise:

In the last three editions of the IPL, MI have made it to the playoffs just once. Mumbai suffered a 62-run defeat in the second qualifier against the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans in the 2023 season of the IPL thereby losing an opportunity to reach yet another final.

Mumbai Indians to meet Gujarat Titans in first game of 2024 IPL

Meanwhile, the seventeenth edition of the IPL is all set to begin on Friday, March 22, with the defending champion Chennai Super Kings taking on three-time runners-up Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Mumbai Indians will begin their 2024 IPL campaign with a blockbuster clash against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday (March 24).

Hardik Pandya captained Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their first-ever season in the league and followed it up with a runner-up finish last year having agonizingly lost the rain-marred final against the Chennai Super Kings via the DLS method.

Can Mumbai continue their IPL success under the youngster who has now gone on to become their new captain? Let us know your views in the comments section!