Mumbai Indians will be eyeing history in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. The first team to win the tournament three, four as well as five times, they can now become the first-ever team to win the IPL six times.
The five-time IPL winners have not won the title since Rohit Sharma led them to their fifth title in 2020. They won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020 but have not managed to qualify for the final since then. In 2021, they bowed out at the league stage after finishing at the fifth spot. In 2022, they endured a terrible campaign and finished at the bottom of the points table.
In 2023, Mumbai Indians did well to qualify for the playoffs but could not get past that stage. They will be hoping that their fortunes change under new captain Hardik Pandya. The India allrounder has replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the team after the latter led the IPL giants from 2013 to 2023.
And while Pandya and Rohit will be playing together for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, they could be up against each other before that. According to a report in Cricbuzz, Mumbai will be playing an intra-squad match on Wednesday (March 20) at the Wankhede Stadium. Pandya and Rohit could be on different teams for the game. Mumbai Indians have also invited 3000 fans for the game.
Mumbai Indians will be playing an Intra-Squad match on Wednesday at Wankhede. [Cricbuzz]
– MI has invited 3000 fans to watch the game. pic.twitter.com/jkuPYg71ko
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 18, 2024
Business as usual for Mumbai Indians:
Ahead of the upcoming season, Mumbai Indians’ new captain Hardik Pandya has made it clear that the change in captaincy won’t make any difference for the team. Speaking to the media on Monday (March 18), the former Gujarat Titans skipper said that his predecessor Rohit Sharma would continue to be a leader for the team.
“It won’t be any different, because he will be there to help out if I need his help,” Pandya said.
“He is the captain of the Indian team, which helps me because what this team has achieved, it has achieved under him. From now onwards, it will be about carrying forward what he has achieved, so there will be nothing awkward. I have played for 10 years under him and I know he is going to have his hand on my shoulders throughout the season,” added Pandya.
Mumbai will be opening their campaign in IPL 2024 on March 24 against Pandya’s former team Gujarat Titans.
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