The ongoing Test series between India and England has captured the attention of cricket fans in the country, but after India wrapped up a convincing series win on Monday the next item on the agenda is sure to be the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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The fixtures for the first leg of the tournament were released last week, with the first 21 matches scheduled before the elections set to take place across the country in summer. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will be in action for the first time on March 24 as they travel to Ahmedabad to take on last season's beaten finalists, Gujarat Titans (GT).
What did Sunil Gavaskar say about Mumbai Indians naming Hardik Pandya captain?
MI were the talk of the town prior to the player auction in December, as they made a massive trade. Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya returned to MI, his first IPL franchise, for Rs 15 crore. The move came as a shock to many, with the general consensus being that it would be a massive loss for GT.
A few weeks after the trade was confirmed, another bombshell came from the MI camp, as they confirmed that Hardik would be their captain for the upcoming season, replacing current India skipper Rohit Sharma.
Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar provided his opinion on the decision, in an interaction with students of the Indian Institute of Management in Ranchi. He said,
To allow Rohit to play purely as a batter... it has been a busy season for him, first the World Cup, and now this series. This will give him the freedom to play without worrying about other players. My feeling is that it will work very well for Mumbai Indians.
For Hardik to have someone like Rohit to turn to would be invaluable. Hardik will enjoy having Rohit as 'captain'.
Apart from trading in Hardik, MI signed overseas pacers Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka and Nuwan Thushara as well as experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi in the player auction. On the domestic front, they secured Shreyas Gopal, Shivalik Sharma, Anshul Kamboj and Naman Dhir.
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