Mumbai Indians dropped a bombshell a couple of days ago by appointing Hardik Pandya as the new captain replacing Rohit Sharma ahead of the 2024 edition of the IPL. Since Rohit has been the joint-most successful captain in the IPL having led the Mumbai side to five titles in over 10 editions, the sentiments or the general reaction to the decision hasn't been positive. While there was an expectation of Hardik Pandya becoming the captain, since he was traded from a franchise where he was the skipper and led them to two finals, including a title-finish in the maiden season in 2022.
However, former India batter Sanjay Manrekar has urged everyone to refrain from bringing sentiments into their judgement considering Hardik is a proven leader and since he was captain India in T20s as well, the decision made sense.
Speaking on Star Sports during the discussions for the first ODI between India and South Africa, Manjrekar said, "One should not be thinking sentimentally or emotionally about Rohit Sharma. I think it’s a good move as Hardik Pandya is a proven leader and has had a great run. So, he is your in-form T20 captain and player.
“Rohit has been around for a long time. So, it makes a lot of cricketing sense to have somebody like Hardik," he said.
Hardik began his IPL career at Mumbai Indians in 2015 and went on to form a formidable middle-order alongside the likes of Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard. However, when MI didn't retain Hardik ahead of the 2022 mega auction, Hardik was picked as captain by the Gujarat Titans and the new franchise couldn't have a better start to their journey in the cash-rich league than they had.
Manjrekar just hoped that Hardik wouldn't take the pressure of how all this has panned out in the last few weeks as he has done well leading his side. "I just hope he doesn’t feel the pressure of how the transfer happened and Mumbai Indians backing him so much,” he added.
