Its surprising that Mumbai Indians moved on from Rohit Sharma so quickly: Wasim Jaffer

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New Delhi . A day after Mumbai Indians appointed Hardik Pandya as their captain ahead of the 2024 IPL season, former India opener Wasim Jaffer said he was surprised that the five-time champions removed Rohit Sharma from his captaincy so early. Is.

On Friday, the franchise announced that Hardik would be the new captain of the team, ending Rohit’s ten-year reign as captain, who held the role midway through the 2013 IPL season. Rohit had led Mumbai to five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Jaffer said, “He led Gujarat well. There were a lot of question marks over his performance since he came back after a long leave, and how will he captain a new franchise, how will he bat at number four – he answered all those questions in the first season (2022). He performed well in the second season also.”

“But I am surprised that MI have moved on from Rohit Sharma so quickly,” Jaffer said in a video chat with ESPN Cricinfo. It happened so quickly, I’m also a little surprised. When he made the trade, Hardik was probably told that he was going to be the captain. But whether Rohit was informed about it, I don’t know. ,

Hardik led Gujarat to the IPL title in 2022 in his debut season and was player of the match in the final against Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In 2023, under Hardik’s captaincy, Gujarat made it to the IPL final for the second time, where they finished as runners-up, losing to Chennai Super Kings.

“There were some people who were quite hopeful of becoming the (MI) captain. One of them is Suryakumar Yadav, who is captaining the Indian (T20) team. He was looking for an opportunity because he has captained (India) very well recently.

Jaffer, who was the batting coach for Punjab Kings, said, “Jasprit Bumrah also, he captained India in Tests. I hope it has been explained well (to Rohit). It was supposed to happen, but it’s happening straight into this season, I’m a little surprised. ,

In both the IPL 2022 and 2023 seasons, Gujarat had topped the points table in the league stage under Hardik’s leadership. Overall, Rohit captained 158 IPL matches, winning 87 matches, losing 67 matches and four matches ending in a tie, giving him a win percentage of 55.06.

“Captain an IPL franchise can be very tiring because you are on the road for a long time and he knows everyone inside and out. But when MI has a bad game, pressure comes on you. In a way, it might be a bit of a relief that you’re not in that job.”

“It’s a little easier, you just focus on your batting. Knowing Rohit well, sometimes the stress of captaining in the IPL gets to him, especially when he has had a bad season. The last few seasons have been very bad for him, which is clearly reflected in his batting numbers. He might want the leadership to be taken away from him, so that he can concentrate on his batting.

Jaffer concluded, “It will be interesting to see whether he (Rohit Sharma) will captain in the T20 World Cup, it remains to be seen. Because, then he is the captain and Hardik will play under him. So, how does it happen?,

–IANS

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