Surprised that MI has moved on from Rohit so early, says Wasim Jaffer

NEW DELHI: A day after Mumbai Indians appointed Hardik Pandya as their captain ahead of 2024 IPL season, former India opener Wasim Jaffer said he was surprised that five-time champions have quickly moved on from Rohit Sharma as their skipper.

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

“He did lead Gujarat well. There were a lot of question marks over his performances as he was back after a long layoff, and how he would captain a new franchise, how he would bat at number four – he answered all those questions in the first season (2022). Even in the second season, he did well.”

“But I’m surprised that MI has moved on from Rohit Sharma so early. It happened so quickly, I’m also a little surprised. When they did the trade, it was probably communicated to Hardik that he is going to come in as the captain. But whether it was communicated to Rohit, I don’t know,” said Jaffer in a video chat with ESPNCricinfo.

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

“There were a couple of guys who were pretty hopeful of becoming the (MI) captain. One of them is Suryakumar Yadav, who is captaining the Indian (T20I) team. He was the one looking for an opportunity as he has captained (India recently) really well.”

“Jasprit Bumrah as well, he captained India in Tests. I hope it has been communicated really well (to Rohit). It was going to happen, but it happening straightaway this season, I am a little surprised,” added Jaffer, who has been a batting coach for Punjab Kings.

In both IPL 2022 and 2023 seasons, Gujarat had also topped the points table in the league stage under Hardik. Overall, Rohit captained in 158 IPL matches, winning 87 games, losing 67 matches and four fixtures ending in a tie, with his win percentage standing at 55.06.

“Captaining an IPL franchise can be a very fatigue thing because you are on the road for a long time and he does know everyone in and out. But when MI have bad games, then the pressure comes on to you. In a sense, it can be a little bit of a relief that you are not in that job.”

“It’s little easier, you just focus on your batting. Knowing Rohit really well, sometimes the stress of captaining in the IPL has got to him, especially when they had bad seasons. He has had a very lean couple of seasons, which reflected well in his batting numbers. He would have wanted the leadership to be taken away from him, so that he can focus on his batting.”

"It will be interesting to see if he (Rohit Sharma) will captain in the T20 World Cup, that is going to be seen. Because, then again he is captain and Hardik will play under him. So, how does that happen?," concluded Jaffer.