5 Mumbai Indians players who became stars under Rohit Sharma's captaincy ft. Hardik Pandya
Mumbai Indians (MI) announced earlier today that Hardik Pandya will replace Rohit Sharma as captain of the team for the IPL 2024 campaign.
Hardik Pandya started his career with MI in 2015 but was released after IPL 2021. After captaining the Gujarat Titans to an IPL title in 2022 and a runners-up position in IPL 2023, Hardik was traded back to the Mumbai Indians.
Rohit Sharma was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the auction ahead of IPL 2011, after which he has stayed at the franchise till now. He served as captain of the side from 2013 to 2023, leading them to five IPL trophies.
Known for their incredible scouting network, the Mumbai Indians have given many players the right platform to succeed. Here are five such players, including Hardik Pandya, who became stars under Rohit Sharma's captaincy:
#1 Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya made his debut for MI in the 2015 edition under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Due to his explosive cameos with the bat and the ability to bowl accurately at a fast-medium pace, he was fast-tracked to the Indian side. The all-rounder from Baroda never looked back.
He grew in confidence each year and became a match-winner for both MI and India. The 30-year-old has been impressive with both bat and ball for the country and would have been one of the first names on the team sheet if not for his injury record.
#2 Jasprit Bumrah
Like Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah is also the result of the immense scouting network of the Mumbai Indians, and in particular, John Wright, who scouted both of them. Bumrah was bought by MI in the auction leading up to the IPL 2013 season.
Although his first three seasons weren't anything to write about, Bumrah has picked up 15 or more wickets in each of the following seasons that he has played. Most importantly, he has established himself as one of the best pacers in all three formats.
#3 Suryakumar Yadav
Although Suryakumar Yadav started his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians, he was released by them after a couple of seasons. The former Kolkata Knight Riders batter was bought again by MI in the IPL 2018 auction, and the rest is history.
Suryakumar has gone on to establish himself as one of the best T20 batters in the world under Rohit Sharma's captaincy. Although it took him a while to get the India call-up, he grabbed the chance with some aplomb and is currently the No. 1 ranked T20I batter in the world with four international centuries in the shortest format (the joint-highest in T20Is).
#4 Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan started his IPL journey with the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in 2016. Like Suryakumar, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2018 edition and then bought again by MI before the 2022 edition (after being released by them) for a whopping ₹15.25 crore.
Currently the highest-paid player in the franchise, Kishan has had a decent IPL career. The 25-year-old's performances for Rohit Sharma's side led him to represent India regularly. The wicketkeeper batter also holds the record for the fastest double century in ODI cricket.
#5 Tilak Verma
Tilak Verma is one of the newer names to be added to the list of players who have turned into stars under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Bought for a relatively low price of ₹1.7 crore a couple of seasons ago, Tilak has shown the potential to be a future superstar of Indian cricket.
The Hyderabad-born batter has scored 740 runs in his first two seasons with MI, averaging 38.95 and striking at a rate of 144.53. Still only 21 years old, the sky is the limit for the elegant left-hander, who has already become an India regular in T20Is.