KKR vs MI: Rohit Sharma or Hardik Pandya? Wasim Akram identifies Mumbai Indians' awful IPL season's real villain

Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram opened up about the captaincy change in Mumbai Indians ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He believes that removing Rohit Sharma as a leader at the last minute is the reason behind the team's poor outing in the league.

Mumbai Indians became the first team to be knocked out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. They got eliminated from the tournament after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 57th game of the tournament on Wednesday (9th May) at Hyderabad.

The captaincy change ahead of the IPL 2024 didn't go well with Mumbai Indians. Ahead of the tournament they removed Rohit Sharma as the leader and appointed Hardik Pandya as captain. The all-rounder was traded to the franchise from Gujarat Titans after leading the team for two years.

This surprised many as Rohit Sharma was removed as the captain of the team. The opening batter guided the team to five titles in the league and made them most successful in the tournament. Many fans and pundits lashed out at the team management for their decision.

Wasim Akram stated that a last-minute change in the captaincy made a difference for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024. Speaking to Sportskeeda about the same, he elaborated:

"Mumbai Indians must be going through a lot as a team. Last minute mein jo captain change huwa hai na Mumbai Indians ka, usse farak toh pada hai (The last minute change in the captaincy definitely made a difference)."

Mumbai Indians have failed to win games despite having a star-studded lineup. The Hardik Pandya-led side has played 12 games in the tournament and has won just 4 games, losing 8 games. They also have a poor NRR of -0.212.

Agar yeh pata hota na ki yeh badal rahe hai aur Rohit khud kata ki, I just wanna play my cricket - Wasim Akram on Mumbai Indians leadership

Wasim Akram further stated that had Mumbai Indians earlier conveyed that they wanted to change the skipper, Rohit Sharma himself would've stated that he wanted to rest and play his cricket.

Wasim Akram further claimed that Mumbai Indians should've made Hardik Pandya vice-captain of the franchise in IPL 2024 and then Rohit Sharma would've passed on the baton to the all-rounder next year. He added:

"Agar yeh pata hota na ki yeh badal rahe hai aur Rohit khud kahta ki, I just wanna play my cricket and have a rest. India ki captain bhi chodd di hai toh phir theek hai (If it was predetermined and Rohit had said himself that he wanted to just play cricket and take rest. If he had given up the India captaincy too, then it would have been okay).

"Woh India ki kaptani bhi kar raha hai. In my opinion, iss saal Pandya ko vice-captain banate. (Rohit is also captaining India. MI should have appointed Hardik as vice-captain) Rohit kaptani karta aur agle saal Rohit kahta ab bas. I am relaxing, I want to enjoy and I am giving reigns to Pandya. Kissi ko shock nahi hota. That didn't go down well for Mumbai Indians," he concluded.