There’s a lot going on among the ten clubs ahead of the highly anticipated Indian Premier League 2024 auction, with news of player trades and releases appearing every other day. The most significant development in recent days, though, has been the selection of Hardik Pandya to captain the Mumbai Indians (MI), taking Rohit Sharma’s position. Notably, Pandya joined Gujarat Titans in a player trade, allowing him to return to MI after a two-year absence.
He took over for Sharma a few weeks after he returned to his former team. During Sharma’s 11-year leadership tenure, Mumbai won a record five IPL titles. The Delhi Capitals reportedly sought MI to sell Rohit Sharma before the 2024 Indian Premier League, according to a recent claim that has surfaced in the cricket community.
Sports Today reports that since normal captain Rishabh Pant would be participating as an Impact Player in the upcoming season, DC allegedly sought a seasoned player to lead their team. But MI turned down the offer because they don’t often let their players go. To have enough cash on hand to bring Pandya back, they had to let go of all-round player Cameron Green, who was dealt for INR 17.50 crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In the Indian Premier League, Rohit Sharma is tied the most successful skipper.
Notably, since assuming leadership responsibilities in 2013, Sharma has guided Mumbai to five IPL wins, making him the joint-most successful captain in IPL history. With 6211 runs from 238 innings at an average of 29.57 and a strike rate of 130.04, he also holds the fourth position on the list of the tournament’s all-time top scorers.
Throughout his IPL career, the opening batsman has hit 114 and 42 fifty-score runs. He has also hit the second-most sixes in the tournament’s history (257). But after losing the captaincy, Sharma has been playing below his usual level in the last few seasons of the competition. With the pressure off of him, he will be keen to improve in the next season.
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