Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has shared his thoughts on the surprising decision by Mumbai Indians to appoint Hardik Pandya as their captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, replacing the highly successful Rohit Sharma. Expressing his astonishment, Jaffer highlighted the swift transition from Rohit Sharma and found it unexpected.
“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,” Wasim Jaffer conveyed while speaking on ESPNCricinfo.
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Jaffer emphasized the minimal captaincy experience of Hardik Pandya. Despite leading Gujarat Titans to an IPL title, Pandya had not captained his state, according to Jaffer. This unexpected move by Mumbai Indians comes a month after Hardik’s return to the team, following a significant trade from Gujarat Titans, where he served as captain in the previous two seasons.
Hardik Pandya played a crucial role in Mumbai Indians’ successful IPL campaigns from 2015 to 2021 before departing to captain the Titans. Under his leadership, the Titans secured the IPL title in their debut season in 2022 and finished as runners-up earlier this year.
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This decision also raises uncertainties about Rohit Sharma’s future in the T20 format. Despite India’s narrow miss in the ODI World Cup title against Australia, Rohit led the team exceptionally, winning 10 consecutive games. While another appearance in the ODI World Cup seems unlikely, there’s a possibility he might return to captain 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?,” added Wasim Jaffer.
