"He knows the changing room better than what I do"- MI coach Mark Boucher excited about Hardik Pandya's 'homecoming' in IPL 2024

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mark Boucher is excited to have star all-rounder Hardik Pandya back at the franchise ahead of the IPL 2024 season. Hardik was traded from the Gujarat Titans (GT) before the auction last year.

The newly appointed MI skipper has hit the ground running in the training camp according to Boucher. He believes Hardik has what it takes to rewind the clock and start winning games for Mumbai again.

Here's what Mark Boucher said about Hardik Pandya in a video posted by MI on their social media handles:

"He (Hardik) knows the changing room better than what I do certainly. It's sort of like a homecoming for a couple of people in the change room. He's fitted in really well so I think he is very excited for the season. We are looking forward to having him back and winning some games for the Mumbai Indians again."

Boucher accepted that with a new season on the horizon, it was natural to have some nerves in the camp. However, he is confident of getting the players up to speed as they build their way to the start of IPL 2024.

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Mark Boucher had explained MI's reasoning behind making Hardik Pandya captain

Mumbai Indians' decision to replace their legend Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya at the helm didn't go down well with their fans and the franchise was scrutinized on social media.

Speaking on a podcast to Smash Sports recently, Mark Boucher explained how relieving the burden of captaincy off Rohit could bring the best out of the veteran opener. He also shed light on the importance of transition for the better future of the franchise.

However, Rohit's wife Ritika left a cryptic comment on the reel which sent more mixed signals to the cricketing fraternity about the decision.