India's spin wizard Yuzvendra Chahal is known for sharing a strong bond with Rohit Sharma. The India leggie has played for the Men in Blue under the leadership of Rohit and learned a lot of tricks and trades from him.
Rohit's sudden removal as Mumbai Indians' captain has triggered a wide array of responses from a lot of players and Chahal is the latest to react. The 33-year-old leg spinner has updated his profile picture on the social media platform 'X', formerly Twitter and posted an image that shows Rohit hugging him tightly during an India game.
Chahal shares a wonderful camaraderie with Rohit and has often credited the latter for his guidance after performing well for the Indian cricket team. The feeling is mutual as the former Mumbai Indians captain has also name-dropped Chahal on several platforms for his ability as a match-winning bowler and the way he keeps the environment of the dressing room light.
Meanwhile, the change of guard at Mumbai Indians has irked the die-hard fans of Rohit and Mumbai has copped a lot of flak across several social platforms for the same. However, legends like Sunil Gavaskar believe it's the right call and might help the franchise in the long run.
Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar said that Rohit hasn't been lighting up the Indian Premier League as a batter the way he used to in the past and Mumbai haven't quite achieved the results they wanted to achieve in the previous few seasons.
Additionally, Gavaskar feels that Hardik is on the ascent as a young leader and his recent performances for Gujarat Titans as a captain substantiate Mumbai's call.
"We shouldn't go into rights and wrongs. But, the decision they have taken is for the benefit of the team. In the last two years, Rohit's contribution, even with the bat, has dipped a little bit. Earlier, he used to score big, but in the last two years they finished No. 9 or No. 10 the year before last year and in the last year they qualified for the playoffs," Gavaskar said.
"I feel that the decision, they have kept in mind that Hardik is a young captain who has produced results. Hardik has led Gujarat to the finals twice, and he led them to the title in 2022. I think they have made him captain by considering all this," he added.
