Former India skipper decodes 'Reasons' behind Mumbai Indians' move to replace Rohit Sharma as captain for IPL 2024

The replacement of Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as captain for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the upcoming IPL (Indian Premier League) 2024 season has become the most widely discussed topic in the cricketing world. Despite Rohit's exceptional leadership during the Cricket World Cup 2023, he won't be leading MI in the next IPL season. Citing this, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that analyzing the move of Rohit’s exit from captaincy in terms of 'rights and wrongs' may not be necessary.

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Sunil Gavaskar suggested that there is no need to investigate into the rights and wrongs of the decision. The little master mentioned that the choice made by the Mumbai Indians is in the best interest of the team. The legendary India batter observed a decline in Rohit Sharma's batting contributions for Mumbai Indians over the last two years. The team finished at No. 9 or No. 10 two seasons ago, but qualifying for the playoffs last year led to the decision to replace Rohit as captain for the upcoming IPL season.

 "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 told in a chat on Star Sports.

Hardik has led Gujarat to the finals twice: Gavaskar

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According to Gavaskar, the Mumbai Indians' decision was influenced by their perception of Rohit Sharma appearing 'tired' due to leadership responsibilities in both the IPL and international cricket. Therefore, Gavaskar believes it makes sense to have a captain like Hardik, who successfully led the Gujarat Titans to two finals in the last two seasons.

"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. 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,” he added.