Trouble in Mumbai Indians. Mark Boucher has opened up old wounds. It has just been weeks since Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as new MI captain. But MI coach said Rohit has only “a year or so” left in Indian Premier League. And that raises the question whether Rohit is on his way out of MI after IPL 2024.
What did Mark Boucher say?
The former South African coach said that the decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya was to take the pressure of captaincy away from the India skipper. However, the point to note was when he added, “this could be an opportunity for him to step in for his last year or so.” Rohit’s wife-cum-manager Ritika Sajdeh lashed out at that interview, saying “many things were wrong with what Boucher said.
“He hasn’t had best couple of seasons of late with the bat but he has done well as a captain. I just thought speaking to the whole Mumbai Indians group that this could be an opportunity for him to step in for his last year or so. We still want him as a player as we believe he has some great value to add and just enjoy it. The pressure will be there as he will captain India but when he will step into IPL, the pressure maybe a little less,” Mark Boucher said on Banter with the Boys podcast.
IPL 2024 last at MI?
Rohit Sharma has been the most successful captain of Mumbai Indians. He led the side to five IPL titles since taking over the charge in 2013 from Ricky Ponting.
However, as he continues to lead India in all three formats besides Mumbai Indians, he hasn’t had the best of forms. In the last two seasons, Rohit has scored 268 runs at 19.14 and 332 runs at 20.75 average.
And with a mega auction coming up in 2025, MI will only have four options to retain. And with some of the youngsters besides Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav in the squad, Rohit Sharma could be deemed a surplus.
Hardik Pandya making a switch back to Mumbai Indians for Rs 15 Crore also makes things difficult for Rohit.
“We a saw a window to get Hardik back as a player. For me, it’s a transition phase. When you arrive at IPL, there is a lot of stuff going on. There is photoshoot, this and that. Emphasis is not actually on cricket but it’s more about the advertising,” Mark Boucher said.
“Rohit is a great guy. He has been captaining for ages. He has done really well for Mumbai Indians but also for India as well. It’s like he he walks into a place and there is camera everywhere and he is so busy,” he added.
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