The Mumbai Indians’ (MI) decision to hand over the captaincy reins from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya continues to generate discussions.
While Rohit’s leadership delivered a staggering five IPL titles for the franchise, MI opted for a future-oriented gamble by appointing Hardik as the new skipper ahead of IPL 2024.
Former Indian batsman Robin Uthappa shed light on the potential reasons behind this move. He pointed to a possible link between Rohit’s batting form and the leadership change.
“In the last four years, statistically…Rohit scored less than 300 runs (only once). So there’s a lack of success as a batter and a lack of success as a captain in just the IPL,” Uthappa said.
Notably, Rohit’s IPL batting numbers dipped significantly from 2020 to 2023, managing only 1,313 runs in 55 games at an average of 23.8. However, he has bounced back this season with 297 runs in seven matches at an impressive average of 49.5.
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Uthappa also highlighted the contrasting situations when Rohit and Hardik were appointed captains. When Rohit took over from Ricky Ponting mid-season in 2013, he had the backing of senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. In contrast, Hardik is a “pure Mumbai Indians boy” discovered through the franchise’s scouting system.
“Hardik Pandya is their discovery. They did it through their scouting methods. So they are essentially looking at a pure Mumbai Indians boy. When captaincy was given to Rohit Sharma, it was taken from Ricky Ponting in the middle of the season. This is the same franchise. All the senior guys Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, and Ricky Ponting supported Rohit,” Uthappa stated.
While Rohit was acquired for a whopping INR 9.2 crore in 2011, Hardik was unearthed by MI’s scouting system ahead of IPL 2015.
The captaincy change might be a future-oriented gamble, but can Hardik’s leadership and Rohit’s batting revival work for MI? The answer remains to be seen.
