IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya, the new captain of Mumbai Indians, joined the team’s camp ahead of the  marquee event that begins on March 22. Pandya, who has replaced Rohit Sharma as the skipper in the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League, was joined by MI’s Head Coach Mark Boucher for a special pooja. 

A clip shared by MI on their official social media handles showed Pandya and Boucher lighting up a ‘diya’ and breaking coconut. Considered as an auspicious gesture, the pooja marked the return of Pandya to his previous franchise. 

Mumbai Indians had traded Pandya for an all-cash deal worth Rs 15 crore with Gujarat Titans. 

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Before this, Pandya led the new franchise – Gujarat Titans- to their maiden tournament win during the IPL 2022. The Titans also managed to be the second finalists apart from Chennai Super Kings in the last year’s IPL. Pandya is now part of MI, which has won the IPL championship for a record five times. 

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Chennai Super Kings is the only team in the IPL universe that has managed this feat. Pandya will be facing his old franchise on March 24 during the Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Titans league match at Ahmedabad. This year, after the trade deal, Titans are being led by young Shubhman Gill.