Captain Hardik Pandya gave an emotional speech in the presence of the entire squad, congratulating Rohit Sharma for completing 15 years with the Mumbai indians (MI).
MI have gone on to win five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles and two Champions League T20 under the right-handed batter’s leadership.
Hardik applauded Rohit’s impact on the franchise’s overall success since he was named captain in 2013. The all-rounder credits the former skipper not only for his success on the field but also for being a very supportive teammate, along with giving youngsters like him and Jasprit Bumrah their big break in the team.
“Ro, congrats for 15 years! Thank you for leading the way you have led for so many years for this franchise. I made my debut, Boom [Bumrah] did, so many of us, we have made our debuts under you. Thank you for inspiring so many people who have come to play for this franchise, at the same point of time for India. You have been amazing and fantastic as a human. You have been so friendly and open. You have led from the front, so many many congrats and thank you for the way you have led for so many years,” Hardik Pandya said on a Mumbai Indians video.
Following the heartwarming speech, the 32-year-old presented Rohit with a special memento to honour his services to MI.
The full video can be seen below:
Rohit initially played three seasons with the Deccan Chargers, winning the IPL in 2009 in South Africa. He then moved to the Mumbai-based franchise ahead of the 2011 season.
Over the course of his 15-year career with MI, the right-handed opener has gone on to play 230 games, scoring 5,994 runs along the way. He captained the franchise in 158 of those games before passing over the reins to Hardik ahead of the 2024 season.
Rohit has made a good start to the 2026 IPL season, scoring 118 runs from three innings at a strike-rate of 168.57.
MI will next face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday, April 12, at the Wankhede Stadium.
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