Rohit Sharma's sacking by Mumbai Indians justified by CSK veteran

By CA Junior Staff

Updated - 20 Apr 2024, 02:31 PM

Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma
Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma. Image Credits: Twitter

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Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Robin Uthappa feels that Mumbai Indians hadn't done anything wrong or different when appointing Hardik Pandya as the captain.

Uthappa also claimed that MI's decision of sacking Rohit Sharma from captaincy is justified given the fact that the management had to think of someone beyond the current Indian captain. Ever since the change in leadership, Mumbai have had a difficult IPL 2024 season so far. 

The biggest news before the player auctions for IPL 2024 took place was Hardik Pandya's return to the Mumbai Indians.

It was alright until that part but when it was revealed that MI has agreed to bring him in as the franchise's captain after 2 seasons of leading the Gujarat Titans, the news disappointed the fans. Not that they didn't want to see Pandya lead but the fact that it came at the cost of Rohit Sharma's removal, fans were left in a state of disdain. 

Uthappa says MI wanted an out and out franchise boy and that's why Hardik Pandya was appointed 

Robin Uthappa had recently appeared in the famous Beer Biceps podcast hosted by Ranveer Allahabadia. Therein, the former MI, CSK, KKR, RR and RCB batter said that Hardik Pandya is actually the discovery of Mumbai Indians' exceptional scouting and that he is MI out and out. That was among the prime reasons why Pandya was offered the chance to become the team's next captain. 
Uthappa also raised a very good point that back in 2013, the year in which MI won it's maiden IPL title, captaincy was snatched from the great Ricky Ponting and was handed over to Rohit Sharma. At that time, Uthappa claimed that senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Ponting himself supported Rohit, instead of slamming him. 
 
"Hardik Pandya is their discovery. They did it through their scouting methods. So they are essentially looking at a pure Mumbai Indians boy. When captaincy was given to Rohit Sharma it was taken from Ricky Ponting in the middle of the season. This is the same franchise. All the senior guys Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, and Ricky Ponting supported Rohit." - Robin Uthappa said via Beer Biceps podcast. 

Robin Uthappa feels MI's thought process about leadership has not changed 

Furthermore, Robin Uthappa observed that Mumbai's thought process about the leadership role has not changed much and that its the same as it was back in 2013.

The 38-year-old claimed that the conversation about a new captain would have started taking place from the end of the 2023 season only and the MI management have been consistent and thus, they cannot be blamed for anything. 

"The narrative was thrown up in the air but was yet to land but for Mumbai Indians it landed last year itself, perhaps. From their perspective, they felt they were right. If you look at how they operated before, to how they are operating now, it's the same. They have been consistent, so how can you fault them?" - Uthappa concluded. 

Uthappa had also made a strong statement that Rohit Sharma's own performance with the bat has been quite disappointing and that MI's failure to win the IPL title since 2020, also contributed to the leadership change.  

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Robin Uthappa Hardik Pandya Rohit Sharma IPL Mumbai Indians

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