BCCI Official Shares Unheard Tale On Mumbai Indians Captaincy Change Row: "Hardik Pandya Knew..."

Rajeev Shukla, the current vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has shared an interesting anecdote, while recalling the infamous captaincy change controversy at Mumbai Indians (MI), involving Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma. Hardik was traded from Gujarat Titans (GT) to MI, and months later, he was announced as the captain of the five-time champions ahead of IPL 2024. However, he was booed and heckled by MI fans, who were unhappy with the change in leadership.

During a recent interaction, Shukla, the former IPL chairman, revealed that the BCCI had reached out to Hardik amid the controversy. The star all-rounder reportedly told the board that he always knew he would be subject to a hostile reception from the fans.

The 65-year-old also praised Hardik for handling the situation the way he did, as he eventually earned the trust of the MI fans.

"When such incidents happen, people within the BCCI do reach out to players not to worry. In Hardik's case, Rohit Sharma's fan base did not like it. But the matter is done. Neither did Rohit Sharma provoke anybody, and Hardik always knew this could happen and was mature," Shukla said in an interview on the official YouTube handle of the UP T20 league.

"He did not let it affect him. He did not get emotionally carried away. Then, when you start performing, fans start applauding by themselves again," he added.

Hardik bounced back from the poor IPL show last year to play a big role in guiding the Indian cricket team to the T20 World Cup 2024 as well as the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

In IPL 2025, MI finished fourth in the league stage under Hardik's leadership and advanced to the playoffs. They won the Eliminator against Gujarat Titans but lost to Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2.

Topics mentioned in this article

Mumbai Indians Hardik Pandya Rohit Sharma Cricket