Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have started their training ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, rolled his arms over under bowling coach Lasith Malinga’s watchful observation. The southpaw made his IPL debut last year for Mumbai as he played four matches in 2023 and claimed three wickets.
Arjun was seen troubling a left-handed batter in the nets with his lethal yorkers. His fiery delivery put the batters on his knees as Malinga looked impressed with Arjun’s bowling.
Newly appointed skipper Hardik Pandya has also joined the camp and started training for his comeback in the Mumbai outfit. The flamboyant all-rounder shocked many with a big trade move to Mumbai Indians after the IPL 2024 Auction. The franchise also named him the new captain in place of Rohit Sharma who led the side to joint-most five-IPL titles.
Talking about the big change in the leadership, Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance, Mumbai Indians said, “It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season.”
Pandya, who recently made a comeback to competitive cricket with the DY Patil tournament, was seen batting and bowling at the Mumbai Indians training session.
The Mumbai-based franchise shared the videos of Pandya’s batting and bowling at the net sessions under the observation of the coaching staff. The star all-rounder connected some lusty blows while batting and looked in good touch.
The flamboyant all-rounder sustained an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh, he missed the second half of the mega ICC event. The injury also put him out of action for more than four months. He followed the NCA rehab plan designed for him to get fit in time for IPL.
