Was removing Rohit Sharma, a 5-time champion, the right call? The question has been raised several times since his removal as captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) last year. Many fans called out the franchise for their poor treatment of one of the most successful skippers in T20 cricket.
But it’s not just fans who have been perplexed by the decision. World Cup winner and former MI player Yuvraj Singh too feels that making Hardik Pandya the captain ahead of the IPL 2024 season might not have been the right call. Talking about what should have ideally happened, he said:
“Rohit Sharma is a 5-time IPL winner as a captain. Removing him is a big decision. I would have gotten someone in, like they brought Hardik (Pandya), but I still would have given Rohit one more season and let Hardik be the vice captain and see how the whole franchise works.“
Yuvraj further added that everyone, including him, has their opinions, but a franchise has to think about their future. From the Mumbai Indians’ perspective, handing Hardik Pandya the captaincy after his successful stints with the Gujarat Titans has made sense. Yuvraj pointed out that although Pandya is talented, he might have trouble handling the big expectations one has when leading one of the biggest sides in the IPL.