Sunil Gavaskar delivers mouth-shutting verdict on Rohit Sharma vs Hardik Pandya saga

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said appointing Hardik Pandya as the captain will only benefit Mumbai Indians in the long run. The IPL franchise faced severe criticism for the unceremonious sacking of Rohit Sharma.

The India captain has led the franchise since 2013 and completely transformed the fortunes of the franchise. Under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians turned into a powerhouse from underachievers.

In his first season as captain, Rohit led the side to its first title in 2013. He led them to four more titles from 2015 to 2020, making Mumbai Indians the first-ever IPL team to win the competition five times. However, Mumbai Indians could not do well in the last three seasons with Rohit Sharma also failing to impress with the bat. Rohit’s struggle with the bat and captaincy coincided with Pandya’s impressive show as captain.

He led the Gujarat Titans from the very front in the last two seasons. In 2022, Titans won the IPL under Pandya’s captaincy before finishing runners-up last year. He impressed with both bat and ball as the Titans made a brilliant start to their IPL journey.

Sunil Gavaskar on captaincy change:

While Mumbai Indians have been criticized for sacking Rohit as the captain and replacing him with Pandya, Sunil Gavaskar believes it is the right decision. The India great highlighted Rohit’s age and said that the decision to appoint Pandya will only benefit the franchise in the long run. With Rohit also struggling with his bat in the IPL, Sunil Gavaskar stated that the decision to relieve him of captaincy duties would help him play with more freedom.

“Look, they have always thought about the future of the franchise. Rohit Sharma is already 36 years old and also faces immense pressure, being the captain of India for all three formats. They have tried to reduce some of that burden and give that responsibility on the young shoulders of Hardik Pandya,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“Handing Hardik, the captaincy is only going to benefit the Mumbai Indians. They have now given the freedom to Rohit to go and express himself freely at the top of the order. Hardik can then come at No.3 or No.5 and help them post totals of 200-plus consistently,” Gavaskar added.

Mumbai Indians will be hoping that their decision to change the captain changes their fortunes too as they will be aiming to become the first team in the history of the IPL to win the competition six times. IPL 2024 is expected to get underway next month.