Rohit Sharma's 3 IPL captaincy records that might never be broken 

In what came as a huge development, the Mumbai Indians (MI) announced that Hardik Pandya will replace Rohit Sharma as the skipper of the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Mumbai traded in Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT) in an all-cash deal for ₹15 crore. There are rumors that Pandya wanted the leadership role at the franchise before the move.

Rohit, the charismatic batter, who steered MI to five IPL titles, has accepted to play under the captaincy of the premier all-rounder. Hardik captained GT in the previous two editions, taking them to finals both times, with Gujarat winning the title in 2022.

As for Rohit, his leadership prowess remains untarnished. The Mumbai opener is one of the most successful captains in the tournament's history. Taking the leadership role midway through the 2013 season, Rohit captained Mumbai Indians for 10 consecutive years.

The 36-year-old captained Mumbai across 158 IPL matches, winning 87 and losing 67 of those encounters. His win percentage as a captain was 55.06, which is the second-best by any skipper (minimum 100 matches).

During his tenure, Mumbai became perhaps the most dominating T20 franchise all over the globe and achieved incredible heights. On that very note, let's delve into three such captaincy records of Rohit Sharma that might never be broken.

[Stats credit: @Shebas_10dulkar]

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#3 Youngest captain to win an IPL trophy

Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar posing with the 2013 IPL trophy [Getty Images]

Rohit Sharma holds the record of being the youngest-ever captain to win an IPL trophy. He achieved the feat in the 2013 season, where he led the Mumbai franchise to their maiden IPL title.

MI were struggling in IPL 2013, and midway they gave the captaincy to Rohit. Despite having some senior players in the team, the management instilled faith in Rohit, who captained phenomenally well.

Rohit was just 26 years and 26 days old when he won the IPL 2013 title as captain. The only player who can break Rohit's record is none other than Shubman Gill, who was recently appointed as Gujarat Titans' skipper.

Gill is currently 24 years old and needs to guide GT to a title within the next two seasons to become the youngest IPL-winning captain.

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#2 Most consecutive wins in IPL playoffs

Rohit Sharma vs Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 finals [Getty Images]

Whenever it came to high-pressure matches, Rohit Sharma always had strategies and tactics up his sleeve.

As a captain, he led Mumbai to 15 playoff matches across 10 years. In those high-octane matches, Rohit's team won 11 games, which is quite a phenomenal number.

From 2017 to 2023, however, Mumbai went unbeaten in the IPL playoffs, including the finals. In the 2017 season, MI won the second Qualifier and the final before failing to qualify for the knockouts in 2018. In the 2019 and 2020 editions, MI lifted the title and won Qualifier 1 and the finals on both occasions.

In 2023, they won the Eliminator against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), but their streak ended when GT beat them in the second Qualifier. In total, Mumbai won seven consecutive playoff matches under Rohit's captaincy.

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#1 Least matches taken by captain to win 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th IPL trophy

Rohit Sharma lifting the 2020 IPL trophy [Getty Images]

Lifting five IPL trophies within just eight years is no mean feat. It is simply the most dominating achievement by any captain in IPL history.

Taking over from Ricky Ponting after six MI matches of the 2013 season, Rohit shepherded the Blue and Gold franchise to their fifth IPL title by 2020.

Exceptionally, Rohit is the fastest captain to win the first five IPL trophies. He captained MI for 13 matches in 2013 when the franchise won its maiden title. After a total of 44 matches as a leader, Rohit's MI lifted the 2015 title.

His third silverware came after a total of 75, while the fourth and fifth titles came after 104 and 116 matches, respectively.

Rohit's record of clinching five IPL championships in a span of just 116 matches might be unbreakable by any other skipper in IPL history.

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