Mumbai Indians coach finally spills beans on why they removed Rohit Sharma from captaincy duties for IPL 2024

IPL has not only revolutionized Indian cricket but world cricket as well with both on-field and off-the-field innovations. The league in itself has been a trailblazing event and its dynamics have caught the attention of viewers both on and off the field. However, the recent Hardik Pandya trade deal has divided the cricketing world.

Some fans consider it a revolutionary move that will pave the way for players in the future to get a better deal for themselves and will help the players who are the engine of the league to benefit more with its growth. On the other hand, the traditionalists believe that it will set a wrong precedent in the future and will evoke the hunger for money in the players rather than prioritizing loyalty and continuity.

What will happen in the future that time will tell but this move has certainly copped negative publicity for the Mumbai franchise as it led them to shift the captaincy reigns of the franchise from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya which was also a part of the trade deal. 

MI’s coach opens up on replacing Hardik Pandya with Rohit Sharma as MI captain

Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles and enjoys a huge fanbase. The removal of Rohit Sharma from MI captaincy has irked his fans and led to a massive uproar on social media that put the MI franchise in a bad light. However, MI coach and South Africa’s former wicketkeeper Mark Boucher has finally opened up on the decision to give the captaincy of MI to Hardik Pandya.

Speaking on the SmashSports podcast, Mark Boucher said, “I think it was purely a cricketing decision. We saw the window period to get Hardik back as a player. For me, it's a transition phase. A lot of people don't understand in India, people get quite emotional, but you know you take the emotions away from it. I think it's just more of a cricketing decision that was made and I do think it is going to bring the best out of Rohit as a person as a player. Just let him go out and enjoy and score some good runs."

Mark Boucher also emphasized that Rohit hasn’t been in good form with the bat in the last couple of seasons and removing the burden of captaincy from his shoulders may bring the best out of him as a batter at the time when he is captaining the Indian national team as well.

Boucher said, “One thing I did pick up with Ro (Rohit) is that he is a fantastic guy. I mean he's been captaining for ages and he's done well for Mumbai Indians. Now he also leads India as well. It is that he walks into a place and there are just cameras in it and he's so busy and he hasn't had probably the best couple of seasons of late with the bat but he's done well as a captain.

"And I just thought you know when we're speaking with the whole Mumbai Indians group, we thought that maybe this is the opportunity for him to step in as a player. We believe he got some great value to add and just go out there and enjoy it without the hype of being a captain."