'Rohit Sharma playing under me won't be awkward, haven't spoken to him yet: Hardik Pandya on being MI's captain

All eyes are set on IPL 2024. The most awaited tournament will begin on March 22, 2024, and the first match will be between defending champions Ms Dhoni-led CSK and Virat Kohli-led RCB.

A few months ago, it was reported that Hardik Pandya had been appointed as the captain of Mumbai Indians replacing Rohit Sharma.

Rohit Sharma will play under Hardik Pandya after MI changed leadership, handing over the team's reins from Rohit to Hardik for the first time in his career.

Ever since it was announced that Hardik Pandya is the new captain, fans have slammed the team owner and expressed their unhappiness over the change. Hardik had to face the ire of netizens after the owner replaced Rohit Sharma who had led MI for a decade and won titles for them.

A week before the start of the Indian Premier League's 17th season Hardik Pandya during a press meet spoke about his new role and faced a barrage of questions from reporters and also spoke about captaincy and Rohit.

The newly minted captain of Mumbai Indians handled the topic quite well, expressing his respect for the franchise and Rohit, under whom he has played all his cricket so far.

'Rohit Sharma playing under me won't be awkward, want to carry forward what he has achieved': Hardik Pandya on being MI's captain

On Monday, during MI's pre-season IPL press conference, spoke about captaincy change and the awkwardness between the two.

Hardik said, "First of all, it won't be different he is going to be there to help me out if I need his help. At the same time, you have also mentioned he is the captain of the Indian cricket team which helps me because this team has achieved under his belt and from now onwards it is going to be what he has achieved I will just carry forward that. So I don't think it will be awkward or anything different. It will be a nice feeling because we have been playing for 10 years, I have played whole my career under him, and yeah, I know he is going to have a hand on my shoulder always throughout the season."

He said that he hadn't spoken to Rohit.

Haven't spoken to Rohit yet: Hardik Pandya on the ongoing captaincy row

Hardik pointed out that the reason the talk is still pending between the two is because of Rohit's tight schedule with the Indian team.

Hardik added, "Yes... and no. Because he has been travelling; he has been playing. We're all professionals and by the time the team comes together, we will be playing. It's been only a couple of months since we've seen each other, and as mentioned, whenever our IPL preparation starts, which from today through a practice match, and once he comes, we will definitely have a chat."

Hardik said, "Backlash bit. To be very honest, we respect fans. At the same time, we focus on sport. I control the controllables. I don't focus on what I can't control. At the same time, I am very grateful to my fans. They have every right to say what they say. I respect their opinion. At the same time, we will focus on doing well," Hardik Pandya said, playing down the negative reaction from fans.

Hardik on injuries

He said, "I have no issues with my body, I plan to play all the games. In IPL, I have not missed many games anyway. Technically, I was out for three months. It was a freak injury and it had nothing to do with my earlier injuries. I tried to stop the ball and ended up getting injured."

Due to the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 coinciding with the IPL 2024 dates, the BCCI released a full schedule initially, disclosing only the schedule for the initial leg.

Here's the schedule and venues for the IPL as announced for the initial phase:

March 22, 8:00 pm IST: CSK vs RCB, Chennai.

March 23, 3:30 pm IST: PBKS vs DC, Mohali.

March 23, 7:30 pm IST: KKR vs SRH, Kolkata.

March 24, 3:30 pm IST: RR vs LSG, Jaipur.

March 24, 7:30 pm IST: GT vs MI, Ahmedabad.

March 25, 7:30 pm IST: RCB vs PBKS, Bengaluru.

March 26, 7:30 pm IST: CSK vs GT, Chennai.

March 27, 7:30 pm IST: SRH vs MI, Hyderabad.

March 28, 7:30 pm IST: RR vs DC, Jaipur.

March 29, 7:30 pm IST: RCB vs KKR, Bengaluru.

March 30, 7:30 pm IST: LSG vs PBKS, Lucknow.

March 31, 3:30 pm IST: GT vs SRH, Ahmedabad.

March 31, 7:30 pm IST: DC vs CSK, Vizag.

April 1, 7:30 pm IST: MI vs RR, Mumbai.

April 2, 7:30 pm IST: RCB vs LSG, Bengaluru.

April 3, 7:30 pm IST: DC vs KKR, Vizag.

April 4, 7:30 pm IST: GT vs PBKS, Ahmedabad.

April 5, 7:30 pm IST: SRH vs CSK, Hyderabad.

April 6, 7:30 pm IST: RR vs RCB, Jaipur

April 7, 3:30 pm IST: MI vs DC, Mumbai.

April 7, 7:30 pm IST: LSG vs GT, Lucknow.