IPL 2024: Match 5, GT vs MI Live: GT vs MI Live Updates (Source -Twitter/X)
There’s a lot going on in the background for Mumbai as they announced a change in their leadership by bringing Hardik Pandya back into their team through a player trade with Gujarat Titans and replacing him with Rohit Sharma.
The move didn’t go down well with the fans who felt that the five-time IPL-winning captain deserved better treatment from his franchise. However, the on-field visuals suggest that ‘all is well’ within the MI camp as Pandya and Sharma were recently seen hugging each other during a practice session.
Keeping the off-field controversies out, MI are once again entering the competition as one of the favourites boasting a really strong squad. During the mini-auction, the Mumbai team management reinforced their squad adding the likes of Gerald Coetzee and Dilshan Madushanka to their team.
However, the latter has been ruled out of the season with Kwena Maphaka being named as his replacement. They also added Nuwan Thushara and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi in their team among others to further bolster their team.
On the other hand, Gujarat also have a captaincy change heading into the season with young batting star Shubman Gill replacing Pandya as the skipper. The franchise has had a memorable start in the league reaching the finals of both the editions they’ve played so far.
However, they will be missing the services of their star seamer Mohammed Shami who was the Purple Cap holder of the previous season. During the mini-auction, they bought the likes of Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra and Robin Minz to get their squad ready for the upcoming. The biggest positive for Gujarat is the availability of all-rounder Rashid Khan who recently recovered after undergoing a back surgery.
With two of the strongest teams of the tournament taking on each other, the upcoming fixture promises to be a thrilling clash for the fans who will get to witness some top-notch cricketing action.