IPL 2024: Hardik replacing Rohit as MI captain will benefit franchise, feels Little Master Sunil Gavaskar

On Friday (Dec 15), the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise dropped a bomb by announcing Hardik Pandya as the captain, bringing curtains on Rohit Sharma's successful captaincy era (comprising five IPL and one Champions League trophy). Hardik rejoined his first-ever IPL franchise on the IPL retention deadline day on Nov 26. He moved from Gujarat Titans (GT), where he led them to the championship in their inaugural season in 2022 and in the final in the 2023 edition, to his old franchise and many were speculatingsuch a move by MI. However, after the announcement, the franchise has been facing a lot of backlash with many not impressed with the decision.

Many former cricketers have reacted to Hardik replacing Rohit as the MI skipper. Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar recently joined the bandwagon and stated that the decision will only benefit MI.

Speaking to Star Sports, Little Master Gavaskar said,"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 yearsthey finished No. 9 or No. 10 the year before last year and in the last year they qualified for the playoffs.But we missed seeing the mojo in Rohit Sharma that we used to see in the previous few years. Maybe, he was a little tired because of playing continuous cricket, he was a little tired because of captaincy, leading India and the franchise."

He added, "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.At times, you need fresh thinking. Hardk brings in that fresh thinking. I think the decision will only benefit Mumbai Indians, it will not deter them."

Under Rohit, MI became a force to be reckoned with and won the IPL in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 whereas they also won the now-defunct CLT20 title in 2013. It will be interesting to see how the Mumbai franchise moves forward under Hardik, who tasted huge success as GT's captain in 2022-23.