“Need fresh thinking”: Sunil Gavaskar defends Mumbai Indians decision to replace Pandya as captain

Sunil Gavaskar has backed Mumbai Indians’ decision to replace Hardik Pandya with Rohit Sharma as captain ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. Rohit had led the MI team for a decade taking over from Ricky Ponting in 2023. Mumbai Indians have announced Hardik Pandya as the captain for the IPL 2024 season just a couple of days after his trade from Gujarat Titans.

MI called the captaincy change a ‘significant leadership transition’. While MI’s Global Head of Performance Mahela Jayawardene said the change is part of the process that helps them to be “future-ready”.

Earlier Hardik Pandya moved to GT from MI ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction. He found immediate success with the Gujarat Titans team. He led the team to the title and reached the final in 2023, but lost to CSK in the final match.

Why Rohit Sharma was replaced by Hardik Pandya as Mumbai India’s captain?

Sunil Gavaskar shared his thoughts on this captaincy replacement. He said that Rohit looked tired in the past 2 seasons with the Mumbai Indians, highlighting how leading the country and IPL side was apparently taking a toll on his leadership and performances alike.

“We shouldn’t go into rights and wrongs. But, the decision they have taken is for the benefit of the team. In the last two years, Rohit’s contribution, even with the bat, has dipped a little bit. Earlier, he used to score big, but in the last two years they finished No. 9 or No. 10 the year before last year and in the last year they qualified for the playoffs,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“But we missed seeing the mojo in Rohit Sharma that we used to see in the previous few years. Maybe, he was a little tired because of playing continuous cricket, he was a little tired because of captaincy, leading India and the franchise,” he added.

“I feel that the decision, they have kept in mind that Hardik is a young captain who has produced results. Hardik has led Gujarat to the finals twice, and he led them to the title in 2022. I think they have made him captain by considering all this.”

Watch: Suryakumar Yadav ‘Heart Break’, Fan Burns MI Cap and Jersy After Rohit Sharma’s Removal From The Captaincy

MI last won the IPL title in 2020 and failed to make playoffs in 2021 and 2022. In the IPL 2022 season, the team finished bottom of the points. Gavaskar believes Pandya will bring fresh thinking and energy to the team. “At times, you need fresh thinking. Hardk brings in that fresh thinking. I think the decision will only benefit Mumbai Indians, it will not deter them,” he said.