NEW DELHI: The Mumbai Indians franchise announced Hardik Pandya on Friday as their captain for the upcoming 2024 IPL season, ending Rohit Sharma's ten-year stint at the helm.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer expressed his astonishment at the quick transition, emphasizing Rohit's successful leadership that brought five IPL titles to the team.
"He did lead Gujarat well. There were a lot of question marks over his performances as he was back after a long layoff, and how he would captain a new franchise, how he would bat at number four – he answered all those questions in the first season (2022). Even in the second season, he did well," said Jaffer in a video chat with ESPNCricinfo.
Hardik Pandya led Gujarat to the IPL title in their debut season in 2022 and was the Player of the Match in the final against Rajasthan Royals. Under his captaincy, Gujarat reached the IPL final again in 2023, finishing as runners-up to Chennai Super Kings.
1/10:IPL: Hardik Pandya replaces Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain
PTI
2/10:Mumbai Indians
<p>Mumbai Indians on Friday announced that they had replaced their hugely successful captain Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya. </p>PTI
3/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Mumbai Indians won all five of their IPL trophies under Rohit Sharma. </p>
4/10:Back to MI
<p>The move comes less than a month after Mumbai Indians announced that Hardik had returned to their fold following a high-profile trade from Gujarat Titans. </p>Getty Images
5/10:T20 World Cup
<p>The move comes at a time when there is much speculation over who will lead India in the T20 World Cup in June in the West Indies and USA — Rohit or Hardik. </p>Getty Images
6/10:T20 captain
<p>Hardik was named India's T20 captain after leading Gujarat Titans to the title in their maiden IPL season. </p>
7/10:Rohit's IPL form
<p>Rohit's IPL form has declined substantially in recent years. In 2021, he scored 381 runs 13 matches, with just one fifty. </p>TNN
8/10:2022 and 2023
<p>In 2022, it was even worse with 268 runs in 14 matches, with no fifty. In 2023, Rohit scored 332 runs in 16 games, with two fifties. </p>TNN
9/10:Set to move?
<p>While it is expected that Rohit will now play under Pandya in MI, it will not be a surprise if he moves to another franchise later on. </p>
10/10:The future
<p>The massive shift in Rohit's role at MI also raises questions about the 36-year-old's future in the shortest format. </p>TNNJaffer shared his surprise at Mumbai Indians moving on from Rohit Sharma so swiftly. "But I'm surprised that MI has moved on from Rohit Sharma so early. It happened so quickly, I'm also a little surprised. When they did the trade, it was probably communicated to Hardik that he is going to come in as the captain. But whether it was communicated to Rohit, I don't know."
While acknowledging other potential candidates for captaincy, such as Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, Jaffer questioned the timing of the decision.
"There were a couple of guys who were pretty hopeful of becoming the (MI) captain. One of them is Suryakumar Yadav, who is captaining the Indian (T20I) team. He was the one looking for an opportunity as he has captained (India recently) really well," he said.
1/10:IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma's final season for Mumbai Indians?
Getty Images
2/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians to five IPL title wins, has been replaced by Hardik Pandya for next year's Indian Premier League season. </p>
3/10:ODI World Cup
<p>Rohit recently led India to the ODI World Cup final, where India lost to Australia after winning 10 games on the trot. </p>Reuters
4/10:White-ball break
<p>Post the tournament, Rohit has taken a break from the white-ball series in South Africa and will only play in the Tests. </p>AP
5/10:From 2013 to 2023
<p>Rohit Sharma has captained Mumbai Indians for the last decade, from 2013 to 2023. </p>Getty Images
6/10:IPL 2013
<p>Handed the captaincy midway into IPL 2013 by the then MI captain Ricky Ponting, Rohit led the franchise to their maiden IPL title that season. </p>TNN
7/10:Rohit's captaincy
<p>MI also clinched the IPL under Rohit's captaincy in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, and made it to the playoffs in 2023. </p>TNN
8/10:Leading from the front
<p>Rohit led MI 163 times in the IPL and the Champions League T20, winning 91 games, drawing four and losing 68. </p>TNN
9/10:Mumbai Indians
<p>MI failed to make the playoffs in 2021 and 2022, and departed the 2023 tournament knockout with a loss to Gujarat Titans in the second qualifier. </p>TNN
10/10:Mega auctions
<p>In 2025, there will be mega auctions and it is now more than clear that Rohit is no longer in Mumbai Indians' scheme of things going forward. </p>TNNJaffer, who has served as a batting coach for Punjab Kings, also highlighted the challenges and relief associated with the captaincy role in the IPL.
He speculated on the impact of this change on Rohit Sharma's batting performance, stating, "He would have wanted the leadership to be taken away from him, so that he can focus on his batting."
The former opener concluded by posing an intriguing question about Rohit Sharma's potential captaincy role in the upcoming T20 World Cup, where he might captain the team with Hardik Pandya as a player. The dynamics of this scenario remain to be seen in the cricketing world.
Mumbai Indians, under their new captain Hardik Pandya, will be closely watched as they aim for further success in the 2024 IPL season.
(With inputs from IANS)
