IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma can still be a leader at Mumbai Indians, feels former England opener Nick Knight

Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, in December 2023, ahead of the IPL 2024 edition. The move shocked many as Hardik rejoined his former franchise after being traded by Gujarat Titans (GT), who won the IPL championship under him in their maiden season in 2022. Ahead of the upcoming season, many former cricketers and experts have opined on how Hardik and Rohit will have to work in tandem to ensure MI's success. Now, former England opener Nick Knight also joined the bandwagon and feels Rohit will still be a leader and help Hardik.

Talking on Sports18, Knight said, "I think a lot of it depends on Rohit Sharma's reaction to it, how he feels about it. How do I think he would react to it? Certainly, on the pitch, he would go out and play his best possible game for the team. He would realise how important his contribution is for the team."

"I would also like to think that he would help Hardik, help him do his job as best as he can. We have talked a lot about Rohit, his captaincy and leadership skills. He can still be a leader, in a slightly different way. I would fully expect him to do that," he added.

Rohit took charge of the MI franchise midway through the IPL 2013 season. Since then, he led the team to five IPL titles (in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020). In IPL 2023, Mumbai were off to a poor start but they managed to reach the playoffs where they lost to Hardik-led GT in Qualifier 2.

With captaincy responsibility off his shoulders, Hitman will now focus on his batting as he has had an ordinary run in the IPL since the 2017 season.

For MI, a new chapter will surely commence in their rich history during IPL 2024 with Hardik taking over from Rohit. It will be interesting to see how the two operate with each other and take the franchise forward.

Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma.