Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar finally broke his silence on Rohit Sharma“Removal as Mumbai Indians captain”. The management named Hardik Pandya as the new captain of the team ahead of IPL 2024.
The management made him captain after trading him from Gujarat Titans. Oandya led the Titans in IPL 2022 and 2023, taking them to the final on both occasions. While they won the title in IPL 2022, they lost to CSK in the final of IPL 2023.
Sunil Gavaskar, while speaking to Star Sports, spoke about the possible thought process behind MI naming Hardik Pandya as the new captain. Mumbai finished last in the points table in IPL 2022 and Rohit also did not have a good season with the bat. Therefore, Gavaskar felt that the Indian captain might be a little tired of the captaincy responsibilities of both club and country.
We missed seeing Rohit Sharma’s charm: Sunil Gavaskar
“We should not go into rights and errors. But the decision they have made is for the benefit of the team. In the last two years, Rohit’s contribution, even with the bat, has diminished a bit. He used to score a lot before, but in the last two years they finished in 9th or 10th place the year before last year and in the last year they qualified for the playoffs.” Gavaskar said.
“But we missed seeing the charm of Rohit Sharma that we used to see in the previous years. He maybe he was a little tired from playing cricket continuously, he was a little tired from being captain, leading India and the franchise.” he added.
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Hardik Pandya is a young captain and has produced results: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar further spoke about the reason behind choosing Hardik Pandya as the new captain of the Mumbai franchise. He said Hardik’s results with the Gujarat Titans could have led the Mumbai franchise to name him the new captain.
“I feel that in the decision they took into account that Hardik is a young captain who has given results. Hardik has led Gujarat to the final twice and led them to the title in 2022. I think he has been named captain considering all this.” Gavaskar said.
He further added that Hardik Pandya’s appointment also implies a new thought process by the five-time IPL champions and some transition in the team. He said Pandya’s appointment as captain would only be beneficial for the franchise.
“Sometimes you need to think outside the box. Hardk brings that new thinking. “I think the decision will only benefit Mumbai Indians, not deter them.” he added.
Meanwhile, how Rohit Sharma sees his future with the franchise now will be an interesting watch. While IPL holdings took place recently, the trade window will remain open after the auction and up to a week before the start of the new season next year.
For now, Rohit Sharma is focused on winning a Test series against South Africa in South Africa and will soon join the national team. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya is recovering from an ankle injury which he survived in the World Cup match against Bangladesh and has been out of the national team since then.
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