The change in leadership at Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024 had sparked widespread speculations that all was not well between both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. The announcement ahead of the IPL 2024 that Hardik Pandya will replace Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Mumbai Indians had given rise to various opinions surrounding both players' relationship.

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was traded from Gujarat Titans, was appointed as the captain of Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024 This decision, however, came at the expense of Rohit Sharma, under whose leadership Mumbai Indians have been five-time IPL champions.

The leadership change was unexpected, especially given Rohit’s long association with the franchise and his success in the role. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya received huge opprobrium from MI fans. He was booed by the crowd whenever he stepped onto the field. Meanwhile, MI also had a lacklustre campaign at the IPL 2024, losing ten games out of 14 and finishing at the bottom in the points table. 

Recently, however, both players were seen embracing each other after India’s title victory at the T20I World Cup 2024. All-rounder Pandya played one of the key roles in India’s victory with both bat and ball. Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were the captain and vice-captain of team India at the T20I World Cup 2024. Throughout the tournament, both players were incredibly cordial. Recently, veteran journalist Vimal Kumar detailed as to how both the players buried the hatchet. 

"When I went to the nets, I noticed what was going on between Hardik and Rohit. On the first day, they didn't speak and were away from each other. But by the second day, I saw them come over, one after the other, and sit together in a corner, talking for a long time. That moment for me defined this team. There was no camera there; nothing. The way Rohit and Hardik were talking, I was like 'what am I watching?'," said Vimal on the 2 Sloggers Podcast.

"There is so much going on in India with the public talking about their differences. After that, for the next three days, Rohit and Hardik would bat parallelly. And then Rohit would point out about his batting, bowling. When I saw that atmosphere and thought if they addressed such a complex issue, the elephant in the room. That vibe I saw demonstrated how relaxed the team atmosphere was," he added.