Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has opened up on Mumbai Indians’ move to name Hardik Pandya as their captain, replacing Rohit Sharma ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Expressing surprise, Jaffer noted how swiftly Mumbai Indians “moved on” from Rohit Sharma and found it unexpected.
Notably, MI named Hardik Pandya captain in place of a highly successful Rohit, who led the IPL giants to five trophies. MI’s decision comes a month after Hardik’s comeback to the team, marked by a notable trade from Gujarat Titans, where he served as captain in the previous two seasons.
Jaffer emphasized that Hardik Pandya had minimal experience as a captain. Apart from his leadership role with GT, where he guided them to an IPL title, Pandya had not captained his state, according to Jaffer.
“I’m surprised that MI has moved 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 was going to become the captain. But whether it was communicated to Rohit, I don’t know,” Jaffer said while speaking on ESPNCricinfo.
Hardik played a pivotal role in Mumbai Indians’ successful IPL campaign from 2015 to 2021 before departing to captain the Titans. Under his leadership, the Titans clinched the title in their IPL debut in 2022 and finished as runners-up earlier this year.
This significant development also raises uncertainties about Rohit’s future in the shortest format of the game. The 36-year-old experienced disappointment as India narrowly missed the ODI World Cup title against Australia at home, despite winning 10 consecutive games. While another appearance in the ODI World Cup seems unlikely, there’s a possibility he might return to lead India in the T20 World Cup in six months.
“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?,” Jaffer added.
