IPL 2024: Harbhajan Singh hails Hardik Pandya’s ‘leadership qualities’

Former Mumbai Indians spinner Harbhajan Singh has heaped praise on all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s leadership qualities ahead of the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League. Pandya is set to captain Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024.

In a historic trade move in November 2023, Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians after captaining Gujarat Titans for two years. Just days ahead of the IPL 2024 mini-auction, MI announced Pandya as the new captain, replacing Rohit Sharma as the skipper.

Speaking to Star Sports, Harbhajan said Pandya has proved his captaincy credentials and has all the qualities of a good leader. Pandya led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in 2022 and a runners-up finish in 2023.

“He (Hardik) is someone who thrives on challenges. He has done well for GT, winning the title in the first year and runners-up the next. This goes to show that he is a leader. He is now very quiet, operates well. So I feel he has got all the qualities of a leader,” said Harbhajan.

Pandya will be faced with an interesting challenge in his first match as Mumbai Indians captain as he will lock horns with former side Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2024 opener on Sunday, March 24. The match will be held at the Narendra Modai Stadium in Ahmedabad, where Pandya reigned as captain for two seasons.

Pandya returned from a long-term injury to participate in the DY Patil Trophy. Prior to playing in this tournament, Pandya had last played in the 2023 ODI World Cup where he picked up an injury in the league stage.

Pandya has been one of the marquee all-rounders in the IPL in recent years, having scored 2,309 runs at an average of 30.38 while striking at 145.86 in 123 matches. He’s smashed 10 half-centuries, while also picking up 53 wickets.

Pandya won the IPL with Mumbai Indians in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. But after an indifferent season in 2021, MI released him. He added another IPL trophy to his collection and his first as captain before returning to Mumbai.

Meanwhile, defending champions Chennai Super Kings will kick-start the 2024 season of the IPL when they lock horns with Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on March 22.

MI SQUAD FOR IPL 2024

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