IPL 2021: 3 legends who played their last match under Rohit Sharma's captaincy
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen quite a few franchises entrusting young Indian cricketers with the difficult job of leading an IPL team. The likes of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson and Mayank Agarwal have led lineups featuring some of the cricket greats.
But this is the beauty of the IPL, and it has given the Indian team some good leaders. Speaking of good leaders, one of the first names that comes to an IPL fan's mind is Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma made his captaincy debut in IPL 2013
Australian legend Ricky Ponting assigned the reins of the Mumbai Indians team to Rohit Sharma midway through IPL 2013. Rohit did not disappoint Ponting as he guided the Mumbai-based franchise to their maiden IPL trophy, and in the next seven seasons, MI won four more championships.
Quite a few legendary cricketers have played under Rohit's captaincy in the IPL. Here's a list of the three legends who played their last IPL game under Rohit Sharma.
#1 Lasith Malinga
Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga played for only one team in his IPL career - the Mumbai Indians. The right-arm pacer started his career under Sachin Tendulkar's captaincy in 2009 and retired under Rohit Sharma's leadership in 2019.
Malinga's last appearance in the IPL came during the 2019 season's final where he dismissed Shardul Thakur on the last ball and helped MI win the trophy. To date, Malinga has been the highest wicket-taker in IPL history.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar
Former Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar played 78 matches in his IPL career. Like Lasith Malinga, Tendulkar played only for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Tendulkar's last IPL match came during the 2013 season against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma was MI's captain in that game. Tendulkar scored a 31-ball 38 before he retired hurt. MI won that game by seven wickets.
#3 Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh started his IPL career as the captain of the Punjab Kings. After representing Punjab for three seasons, Yuvraj played for the Pune Warriors, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. He played his last IPL season for the Mumbai Indians in 2019.
Singh did not play every match for the team, but he entertained the cricket universe by smashing three consecutive sixes in a match against RCB. His last IPL game was against the Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium. Yuvraj scored only four runs off six deliveries, but the Rohit Sharma-led outfit won that game by 37 runs.