Why is Rohit Sharma not captaining Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024? Reason explained
For the first time in over 10 years, Rohit Sharma played a game in the IPL as a player and not a captain on Sunday (March 24). It was the dawn of a new era for the Mumbai Indians (MI) under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, who took over from Rohit Sharma last December.
It all began in November last year when MI pulled off a shocking all-money trade with Gujarat Titans (GT) to bring Hardik Pandya back home. After leaving MI following IPL 2021, Hardik built a strong resume for himself as a captain, leading GT to the title in 2022 and a runner-up finish in 2023.
Despite enjoying incredible success with the Titans, Pandya left them to return to MI, where his cricketing journey prospered in the last decade. It had a ripple effect on Rohit Sharma as MI had to make a tough decision, which they eventually took, keeping the future in mind.
Rohit Sharma had a stellar run as captain for the franchise, leading them in all five of their title winnings seasons in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. However, Rohit's batting performances have declined over the past few years, and the team has failed to win the trophy since 2020.
MI management considered the condition and handed over the captaincy to proven Hardik Pandya, with an eye on the future, as Rohit will be 37 by the end of IPL 2024 and might not be able to play at the top level for many more years.
Mumbai Indians' Global Head of Performance, Mahela Jayawardene, explained the reason for the change in captaincy in an official statement, which read:
“It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin (Tendulkar) to Harbhajan (Singh) and Ricky (Ponting) to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future."
He further noted:
"It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season."
Rohit Sharma scored 43 in a losing cause in his first match as a player under Hardik Pandya's captaincy in IPL 2024
Hardik Pandya's leadership tenure with MI got off to a dismal start with a narrow six-run defeat against his former team, Gujarat Titans. The Mumbai Indians were in control of the match until the last six overs of the second innings, when they surrendered meekly.
In his first game as just a player in the IPL after a decade, Rohit Sharma looked in good rhythm, scoring 43 (29) and anchoring the innings in the chase of 169. However, the middle order failed to utilize the platform and collapsed, leading to a disappointing result. Hardik Pandya was at the crease and on strike when his side needed 19 runs from the last six balls. He hit a six and a four but perished on the next ball, failing to finish the match on his MI captaincy debut.