As the Mumbai Indians gear up for their opening match for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, a new leadership structure has been put in place, with Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as the skipper. Though it would take a few games to see how the new structure works out for the 5-time champions, but for the franchise’s middle-order batter Tilak Varma, not much has changed since Hardik took over the reins. The left-hander explained how both Hardik and Rohit are always available for other players in the team.
In the press conference ahead of MI’s opening match against the Gujarat Titans, Tilak faced quite a few questions about the captaincy change scenario in the team. He only had good things to say about Hardik the leader.
“Rohit has been there for us and Hardik bhai has also been there for us. It’s been the same, just following the basics. Stategy-wise, everything going well. It’s the same thing, nothing new,” said Varma.
Tilak also made his India debut under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, and now heads into the IPL 2024 season with the all-rounder as the skipper. While Hardik is the designated captain of the team, Tilak explained how Rohit is there for both the captain and others whenever they need his input.
“I debuted under him (Hardik) when I played for India, so it’s going well. Hardik is the captain, Rohit is always there for Hardik and the team. We gel well together as a team,” he added.
Tilak also spoke about his own role in the team, saying having debuted for India, he has a bigger responsibility on his shoulders now.
“Last year was a good season, but now, as a senior player and having played for India, I have a slightly bigger responsibility to play mature innings. As I have said previously, I always want to finish games, and I have good knowledge and experience of it when playing for India, so I am looking forward to using it now,” he said.
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