The best captain is not desirable anymore. What could have been Rohit Sharma’s year to remember has turned out to be a nightmare. Not just losing the WTC Final and World Cup final to Australia, Rohit Sharma-led India Cricket Team ended the year with a crushing innings and 32-run loss to South Africa in the 1st Test. To cap it all, Rohit lost his Mumbai Indians captaincy as well. A lot happened in 2023.
Rohit Sharma was the toast of the nation with India going on a rampage in the ODI World Cup, winning 10 matches in a row after lifting the Asia Cup trophy. And even though the final ended in heartbreak, he was the toast of the nation for the way he led the team. Fans sympathised with him despite the loss, instead of going into captain-bashing mode. After all, Rohit Sharma scored 597 runs at a strike rate of 125.94 which attracted fans.
Rohit Sharma in 2023
While he suffered two losses in two ICC trophy finals, as a batter, he excelled.
| Format | Inn | Runs | Avg | 50/100 |
| Test | 13 | 545 | 41.92 | 2/2 |
| ODI | 26 | 1255 | 52.29 | 9/2 |
| IPL | 16 | 332 | 20.75 | 2/0 |
Mumbai Indians heartbreak
But then came the shocker. With Hardik Pandya moving back to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans on a record trade deal, he replaced Rohit Sharma as the new MI captain, ending a 10-year reign. Rohit Sharma had won Mumbai Indians five IPL titles. But MI wanted to look forward.
Rohit Sharma has been silent on that ever since even though fans have slammed the five-time champions.
“This is something we have spoken about as a franchise. It was a tough decision but we had to make them. It is emotional, it is tough, to be honest. But everyone who has been part of Mumbai knows we cherish every moment a player has contributed, and will contribute going forward. The legacy is something we want to build on and make sure we keep fighting for those wins, those trophies. As a good unit, we have the skill set to do it. That’s the focus going ahead. Probably everyone in their eyes will think it is too soon, but it is a decision we had to make at some point,” MI director Mahela Jayawardene said.
Final Frontier remains unconquered
And to end the year on a sad note, India suffered a massive an innings & 32-run loss to South Africa. And with that, Rohit Sharma’s dream of conquering India’s final frontier remained unfulfilled. Had India won the 1st Test against Proteas, Rohit Sharma had a chance to win a Test series in South Africa, becoming the first Indian captain to do so. Alas! It was not to be.
Now with T20 World Cup 2024 in June, Rohit Sharma will aim to bounce back as the captain and deliver India an ICC trophy after 11 years.
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