Mumbai Indians (MI) made a huge tactical decision on Friday (December 15) when they announced a change in the leadership with Hardik Pandya taking over as captain ahead of the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Hardik's announcement as captain means that Rohit Sharma, who guided Mumbai to their maiden title in the 2013 season and helped them get their hands on four more titles, has stepped down from the role. Rohit has carved an unprecedented legacy for himself as a leader at Mumbai Indians.
He took over the mantle of captaincy from Ricky Ponting amid a topsy-turvy season in 2013 and led MI to their maiden title win in the history of the IPL. Mumbai's win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final of the 2013 season marked the beginning of an era that gave a new avenue to the definition of dominance.
MI's fortunes took a turn for the better as they became one of the most successful franchises in the IPL and Rohit was at the helm of it. IPL title wins in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 followed as Rohit displayed tactical nous of the finest quality and stomped on every side that reared its head against Mumbai.
Hence, MI's decision to draw curtains on such an illustrious captaincy tenure has raised plenty of eyebrows and left many gobsmacked.
What is the reason behind a change of captaincy baton at Mumbai Indians?
Rohit led Mumbai to a Qualifier 2 finish in the IPL 2023 season where they lost to the eventual runners-up Gujarat Titans by 62 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In a tournament where Qualifier finishes are considered a success by many franchises, it can be argued that Mumbai had a pretty good season.
But Mumbai are not any XYZ franchise. They are arguably one of the most tactically brilliant sides in the IPL and every move of theirs is well thought out.
An all-cash deal trade-off between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai earlier was one such carefully considered move.
Though Rohit guided Mumbai to a Qualifier finish in the previous season, the two seasons that preceded it saw him struggle to put a winning combination on the field, with IPL 2022 ending as a nightmare.
Mumbai finished IPL 2022 while languishing at the bottom of the points table and managed to bag just four wins out of 14 fixtures. MI fans were left appalled and heartbroken after such a horrendous season that saw such a celebrated team register a steep downward plunge.
Even in 2021, Rohit wasn't able to take the team into the playoffs and wasn't able to lead in terms of his performances either.
Once regarded as a demolishing power-hitter, Rohit's IPL numbers as a batter have nosedived. The Nagpur-born hasn't crossed the 400-run mark since IPL 2019 and hence his contributions as a batter at an individual level have been far from prominent.
Therefore, MI have realised that it is time to bring an overhaul to keep building to the legacy that they have and to remain future-ready, as their Global Head of Performance, Mahela Jayawardene said in a press release.
The appointment of Hardik can be termed a smart ploy and one that has come into effect after careful consideration of his rise as a proven leader and a T20 stalwart.
Hardik led Titans to a title finish in their debut IPL season and fell inches short of repeating the same in the previous season after they were beaten by CSK in the final by a whisker.
On top of his credentials as a player and a leader, Hardik's rise as a player began at MI. It was Mumbai who saw the potential in a young Hardik and gave him opportunities to announce himself and now when they are looking to sow the seeds of a glorious future, they have called upon the same homegrown name who they think can be the ideal caregiver to those seeds.
