WATCH: 'He'll Bat, Don't Worry,' MI Owner Responds To Fan's Request To Make Rohit Sharma Captain Again

All the franchises are set with numerous players bought at the auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. On Tuesday (December 19), a total of 72 players were bought and Rs 240.45 Crore was spent by all the teams. Amid the auction action, while Mallika Sagar was calling out the players' names, a fan requested MI owners to make Rohit Sharma captain again.

In a fan video posted by MI on their X handle, the fan shouted: 'Rohit Sharma ko wapas lao' (Bring Rohit back as captain), to which Anant said: 'Chinta mat karo. Woh batting karega' (Don't worry, he will bat). (WATCH: IPL Auctioneer Says, 'Hammer Has Come Down' To Preity Zinta Who Tried To Reverse A Buy; Video Goes Viral)

Watch video here:

#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/fNWLiWpgJS  Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 19, 2023

Mumbai Indians (MI) Global Head of Cricket said that having former skipper Rohit Sharma in the team to guide the next generation is very important and it was a tough decision to transition from Rohit to a returning Hardik Pandya. Mumbai Indians (MI), the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, announced on Friday that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be leading the team in the 2024 edition of the league.

"Hardik (Pandya) has been in the dressing room for quite some time, so that's nothing new. We know what he brings in as an all-rounder. It will be something different with his experience of leading the team at Gujarat pretty well, so it is an opportunity to build on that," said Mahela to JioCinema as quoted by Mumbai Indians website.

Talking about Rohit Sharma being around in the team without his captaincy, Mahela said, "Having Ro (Rohit Sharma) in the team, on and off the field to guide the next generation is very important for us. He has been absolutely brilliant. I have worked very closely with Ro. He is a fabulous individual and I am sure he will be part of the legacy who will guide that through. Mumbai have had that in the past too with Sachin (Tendulkar), who played with the youngsters. He gave the leadership to someone else and made sure Mumbai Indians were going in the right direction. It's the same thing. We had this conversation and everyone is buying into that, so, it's for us to look forward to the next season."

Talking about the captaincy transition, Mahela said that the decision was tough and emotional. (IPL 2024: Full Squad Of RCB, MI, CSK, SRH, KKR, GT, LSG, PBKS, DC And RR After Auction)

"This is something we have spoken about as a franchise. It is a tough decision, we had to make them. It is emotional, it is tough, to be honest. But everyone who has been part of Mumbai know we cherish every moment a player has contributed, and will contribute going forward. The legacy is something we want to build on and make sure we keep fighting for those wins, those trophies. As a good unit, we have the skillset to do it. That's the focus going ahead. Probably everyone in their eyes will think it is too soon, but it is a decision we had to make at some point," said the former Sri Lankan great.

Mahela said that it is fair for fans to express their reactions to the change.

"I think everyone is emotional and we have to respect that as well. But at the same time, as a franchise, you have to make those decisions," he concluded.

In November this year, Pandya moved from Gujarat Titans (GT) to his former franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) after a trade between both franchises. The all-rounder spent two momentous years with GT, spearheading their campaign with aplomb. In GT's debut season in 2022, Hardik ensured a fairytale start, with the team lifting the coveted trophy, while they finished runners-up in their second season after a last-ball defeat in a thrilling final earlier this year.

Pandya has big shoes to fill as the new skipper of MI, as Rohit has led the franchise to five IPL title wins. In 31 matches for GT from 2022-23, Pandya scored 833 runs at an average of 37.86 and a strike rate of over 133, with six half-centuries and a best score of 87*. He also had 11 wickets for the team, with the best figures of 3/17.

Pandya also played 92 matches for MI from 2015-2021, scoring 1,476 runs at an average of 27.33 at a strike rate of over 153, with four half-centuries and best score of 91. He also took 42 wickets for the team, with the best bowling figures of 3/20. Pandya has won five IPL trophies, four with MI (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020) and GT (2022).

MI Squad For IPL 2024

Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, 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. (With ANI inputs)