What Led Mumbai Indians to Change Captain From Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya?

Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai India’s new captain ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. A successful MI season will strengthen his captaincy claim at India. Rohit Sharma’s captaincy departure from the Mumbai Indians franchise marked the end of an era in the IPL.

Veteran opener and the most successful player Rohit has guided MI to 5 IPL trophies since 2013. Mumbai Indians all five IPL titles have come under the leadership of Rohit in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Saying goodbye to that record-creating captain is a challenging decision by Mumbai Indians.

Hardik Pandya recently returned to MI in a cash deal from Gujarat Titans before the mini-auction. Pandya, who was Rohit’s deputy at the ODI World Cup 2023 campaign has become an integral part of Team India’s leadership group after helping GT’s title triumph in their debut season. After winning the IPL trophy with GT, Pandya’s team defended with the CSK team last season in the final. According to a report, Hardik Pandya left Gujarat Titans to join Mumbai Indians under one condition, i.e. to lead the franchise in the cash-rich league.

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

Rohit Sharma’s Form:

Rohit Sharma had an impressive World Cup journey. But his form for Mumbai Indians over the years wasn’t the best. In IPL 2022, he scored 268 runs in 14 matches at an average of 19.14 while in IPL 2023 him scoring 332 runs in the 16 matches at an average of 20.75.
While it can’t be said that captaincy was taking a toll on Rohit’s performance, Mi didn’t make a big change if they were to challenge the title again, while also paving the way for the future.

Smooth Transition:

With Rohit Sharma 36 and still a capable batter, Mumbai Indians want to make the captaincy change at a time when the Hitman can oversee the transition and help Harik become a better leader. By making a captaincy change early, MI are reducing the risk of finding late solutions to the problems in a scenario where Rohit might no longer be with the team.