It’s official. Hardik Pandya will return as captain of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025, coach Mahela Jayawardena confirmed.
Mumbai Indians, the five-time champions, will return to IPL 2025 with Hardik Pandya as their captain, incoming coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed on Thursday. Hardik, one of Mumbai Indians’ five retentions for INR 16.35 crore, along with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Varma, endured a torrid time in his first season as captain this year, with the franchise finishing at the bottom of the pile. Besides, with Suryakumar replacing Pandya as India’s T20I captain, the door seemed to be shutting on Pandya but MI have put their faith on its premier all-rounder to turn his and MI’s fortunes around and hopefully lead the team to its sixth IPL title.
Hardik Pandya will be eager to turn things around in his second season as captain of Mumbai Indians.(AFP)
Hardik was chuffed to be back in charge for a second straight year, confident that he’s been able to transform the public’s hate towards him into love, given the role he played for India in their title-winning T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year. From getting booed wherever he travelled with the team to being cheered for his stunning contributions – most prominently defending 16 runs off the last over – Hardik’s fate seems to have swung the entire arc, and he can’t wait to replicate that in the coming season next year.
“I have received a lot of love back, means the world to me. My journey started here and you know everything that I have achieved in my life has been part of Mumbai Indians,” he said shortly after MI released their list of retained players.
Hardik isn’t the only one hoping to make a triumphant return. Jayawardene, who had previously served as their coach from 2017 to 2022, is back for his second stint, taking over from Mark Boucher. Under the former Sri Lanka captain, MI had won three IPL titles – in 2017, 2019, 2020 – and the franchise is hopeful that together, Hardik and Mahela can bring MI back to its glory days.
With four out of the five players retained on expected lines, MI have stuck with its core. Rohit, Surya, Bumrah, and Hardik have been the team’s pillars for many years. The only surprise in their list, if one is to hawkishly gauge, is the retention of Tilak over Ishan Kishan, but well, a franchise’s got to do what a franchise’s got to go. Jayawardene mentioned that most decisions – from retaining players to captaincy to appointing roles – were made after a thorough run-through with Hardik, Rohit, Surya, Bumrah and the management.
How MI’s five players were retained
“We had an extensive discussion. These 4 senior guys led those discussions. Obviously, whatever happened last season, we connected about moving forward. It was crucial for us to align in that one direction. So coaching staff, owners, management and these 4 guys played a major role. Hardik’s been appointed captain, and we had that conversation with them [senior players], and there’s the role every retention of ours will play,” Jayawardene pointed out.
Props to MI for not getting disturbed by the series of events that unfolded some months ago. Hardik became the national villain for no fault of his own as the entire fanbase rallied behind Rohit. Reports emerged that after the team’s disastrous outing, Rohit, Bumrah and Surya discussed Hardik’s time as captain as length, but at the end of the day, all’s well that ends well, at least that’s the motto team owner Aakash Ambani has to share.
“We have always believed that the strength of a family lies in its core and this belief has been reinforced during the course of recent events. We are thrilled that the strong legacy of MI will be carried forward by Jasprit, Surya, Hardik, Rohit and Tilak – players who have become synonymous with our team and the brand of cricket we stand for,” he said.
