“Surprised that MI have moved on from Rohit Sharma so quickly” - Wasim Jaffer
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has expressed surprise over Mumbai Indians’ (MI) decision to replace Rohit Sharma as captain with Hardik Pandya for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. Agreeing that the move was always on the cards, Jaffer opined that he wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon.
On Friday, December 15, Mumbai Indians confirmed through an official statement that Pandya would captain the franchise in the upcoming IPL season. The all-rounder was traded in from Gujarat Titans (GT) last month.
In an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer shared his thoughts on MI’s big move and commented:
“I’m surprised that MI have moved on from Rohit Sharma so early. It happened so quickly, I’m also a little surprised. When they did the trade, it was probably communicated to Hardik that he is going to come in as the captain. But whether it was communicated to Rohit, I don’t know.”
The 45-year-old pointed out that a couple of other senior players like Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah were also in the fray to replace Rohit as Mumbai captain.
“There were a couple of guys who were pretty hopeful of becoming the captain. One of them is Suryakumar Yadav, who is captaining the Indian team. He has captained really well. Jasprit Bumrah as well, he captained India in Tests. I hope it has been communicated really well. It was going to happen, but it happening straightaway this season, I am a little surprised,” the former cricketer said.
Pandya led the Gujarat Titans to the title in their maiden season in the IPL in 2022. Under him, the franchise finished runners-up in the 2023 edition.
“It can be a little bit of a relief” - Jaffer on Rohit Sharma no longer being MI captain
Even though he was a bit taken aback by the timing of Rohit being replaced as captain, Jaffer stated that the move could be a blessing in disguise. According to the 45-year-old, the opener has felt the pressure of leadership in recent seasons.
“In a sense, it can be a little bit of a relief that you are not in that job. It’s little easier, you just focus on your batting. Knowing Rohit, sometimes the stress of captaining in the IPL has got to him. He has had a very lean couple of seasons. He would have wanted the leadership to be taken away from him, so that he can focus on his batting,” Jaffer said.
Rohit had a below-par IPL 2023 season for Mumbai Indians, scoring 332 runs in 16 matches at an average of 20.75 and a strike rate of 132.80 with a best of 65.