Why was Rohit Sharma stripped of MI captaincy? Boucher reveals
What's the story
In December 2023, five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI) appointed Hardik Pandya as their new captain after trading him in from Gujarat Titans, whom he led to the title in 2022.
Hardik replaced Rohit Sharma, who won five trophies for the franchise between 2013 and 2020.
In a recent podcast, MI head coach Mark Boucher revealed the reason for this move.
Context
Why does this story matter?
With Rohit nearing the fag end of his career, MI seemed to be focusing on building a strong base.
They roped in Hardik, who started his IPL journey with MI in 2015. He played for them until 2021.
Although the decision received flak, MI's global head of performance Mahela Jayawardene promoted the "philosophy of being future-ready".
Now, head coach Boucher has made fresh statements.
Statement
A transition phase: Boucher speaks on the decision
"I think it was purely a cricketing decision. We saw the window period to get Hardik back. For me it's a transition phase. A lot of people don't understand in India, people get quite emotional," Boucher said on Smash Sports podcast.
"I think it's just more of a cricketing decision, and I think it is going to bring the best out of Rohit."
Record
MI under Rohit; perfect record in finals
Under Rohit, MI reached five IPL finals, in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. They have a perfect record in IPL finals so far.
The last three seasons haven't gone as per plans for the five-time champions. They failed to make the IPL playoffs in 2021 and 2022, besides losing to GT in Qualifier 2 last season.
Player
Three fifty-plus scores in last three seasons
Boucher stated that the reduced burden of captaincy would let Rohit express himself as a player.
Rohit has scored 5,041 runs in the IPL for MI at 29.40. He is the only player with 5,000-plus runs for them.
However, the star opener has recorded just three half-centuries in the last three IPL seasons. He finished the 2022 season without a 50+ score.
Captaincy
Shifting the spotlight
According to Boucher, Rohit, who also leads Team India, could pay attention to his batting again if the spotlight shifts.
"It is that he walks into a place and there's 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," added Boucher.
Criticism
Ritika Sajdeh slams the move
As mentioned, MI's decision to remove Rohit from the post also met with criticism. Rohit's wife Ritika Sajdeh is the latest entrant on the list of critics.
While the clip of Boucher decoding MI's move emerged on Instagram, Ritika responded with a cryptic comment. "So many things wrong with this," she commented on the post.
Rohit
Hardik's injury; Rohit's T20I form
Hardik's availablity for the upcoming IPL season is shrouded in mystery. The all-rounder is recovering from the ankle injury he sustained during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
On the other hand, Rohit recently made his T20I comeback after over a year. He led India in the Afghanistan T20I series.
While India routed Afghanistan 3-0, Rohit slammed a historic ton in the final game.