The moment Mumbai Indians (MI) announced Hardik Pandya as skipper for IPL 2024, questions started doing the rounds about Rohit Sharma’s T20 future, both for MI and India. Will he continue to play the format? Will he put his name forward for selection in the forthcoming Afghanistan series in January and subsequently the T20 World Cup in June?
Currently, Rohit has no reasons to play ODIs in the immediate future. There is no world event in the near future and the next 50-over World Cup is too far away. It’s all about T20s and Tests for Rohit, And more importantly, the decision of an IPL franchise has nothing to do with the Indian team. It could still be that Rohit continues to captain India with Pandya serving as his deputy. The need of the hour is clarity. Does Rohit want to play the format? Do the BCCI and the selectors see him in their scheme of things in the T20 World Cup?
No individual is bigger than the game and the decision has to be made purely on form. That’s where Rohit becomes important. His ODI World Cup form was stellar and that’s what India will need in the T20 World Cup — fearless, selfless batting that sets things up for the middle order. That’s why Rohit needs to give the BCCI some clarity.
The fact that Rohit will not be captaining the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, which will precede the T20 World Cup by just a few days, isn’t bad for India either. It will mean Rohit can bat with a degree of freedom he hasn’t done in the IPL in the last few years.
The pressure of franchise captaincy can be huge and purely from the standpoint of Rohit, the batter, this could be a refreshing change. We have seen Virat Kohli give up the RCB captaincy and bat better. We have also seen Sachin do so in international cricket for years.
But alas, the IPL is entirely a different beast! It will gobble you up much before you know, no matter how strong you are.
The seeds for Rohit’s sacking as captain were sown much before the official announcement was made by MI on Friday.
There is no place for emotions in a result-oriented tournament like the IPL. There seems to be a game of one-upmanship among the team owners — all of whom are big business tycoons or film stars — who always seem desperate to win at all costs and as such don’t shy from taking tough decisions. With MI no longer the dominant force it used to be in the last couple of IPLs and Rohit also not among the runs, plans were hatched after IPL 2023 to bring about some major changes
MI had a tough call on their hands. Whether to continue with 36-year-old Rohit, who had led them to five IPL titles, or look towards the future by anointing 30-year-old Hardik as their new skipper. The owners and the coaching staff veered towards the later, clearly believing that the time for transition was ripe. Rohit was also made aware of the backdoor dealings and once he agreed to play under Hardik, the stage was set for MI’s mega swoop. Ideally, MI would have preferred Rohit issuing a statement saying he was stepping down as captain to focus on his batting but he made MI make it public the announcement of his removal. It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future.
“It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season” MI global head of performance Mahela Jayawardhane said in a statement on Friday.
We express our gratitude to Rohit Sharma for his exceptional leadership; his tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 has been nothing short of extraordinary. His leadership has not only brought unparalleled success to the team but has also solidified his place as one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL.
