Former Indian star coach and head coach Anil Kumble has revealed what happened behind the scenes and when Mumbai Indians appointed Rohit Sharma as captain.
Anil Kumble recently sat down with the veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and in it he was asked to describe it Transition phase in the leadership of MI. Kumble, who was part of the Mumbai coaching staff in 2013 – the first season the franchise won a title – admitted that it was the management’s decision to see Rohit Sharma lead the team.
How did Rohit Sharma’s appointment come about?
This season, MI had signed former Australian captain Ricky Ponting with the vision that the team would win the IPL trophy under his captaincy. However, Mumbai started very poorly as they lost several games in a row and their chances of reaching the playoffs looked bleak.
It was then that the MI management, led by former India head coach John Wright, intervened and decided to change the captain. There were several options for replacement like former captain Sachin Tendulkar as well as off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
However, Kumble and Wright decided to approach Rohit Sharma for the role as he was quite young at that point and also had a bright future ahead of him. The former star player also admitted that Ricky Ponting was very kind to give up his captaincy and hand the reins of the franchise to someone else.
“The first few games didn’t go well. Mumbai didn’t win enough games. There was pressure to change that because we only had to replace four players. So Ricky was kind enough to step aside and that’s when we decided that we” “I will go with Rohit,” Anil Kumble told Ravi Ashwin.
What was Rohit’s reaction?
When Anil Kumble and John Wright approached Rohit Sharma to take over as MI captain, the 2009 IPL winner with the Deccan Chargers grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Kumble revealed that Rohit had no qualms about accepting their offer and was quite confident that he would get the job done for the team.
Anil Kumble makes it clear, Ricky Ponting stepped down from captaincy, it was a smooth transition and that’s why they won championships. pic.twitter.com/nNkne5t9d5
— User45 (@140von113) April 24, 2024
“What was very obvious with Rohit was when we, John Wright and I, I remember when we walked into his room in Calcutta, we were playing I think KKR and when we went to Rohit, he was extremely confident. You know it was like that.” We didn’t hesitate when we said, “Rohit, are you ready to be captain?” Kumble added.
Anil Kumble also said that Rohit Sharma has shown no signs of thinking (about MI captaincy) despite the presence of some big names like Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh among others. And so Rohit was made captain and the rest, as we know, is history.
“Even though all these big names were part of the team, there was no hesitation, that stood out. I mean, that’s what you want. The first time you express or show that you know if you’re ready to take on the responsibility “There’s no hesitation and there’s confidence, it kind of comes through and Rohit has made it very clear that he’s ready is to take power,” Kumble concluded.
With his recent comments, Anil Kumble discredited Robin Uthappa’s claims that Ricky Ponting had been stripped of the captaincy of Mumbai Indians and handed over to Rohit Sharma. Uthappa made his claims while talking about Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as captain at Mumbai Indians.
“Hardik Pandya is her discovery. They did it through their scouting methods. So you’re essentially dealing with a pure Mumbai Indian boy. When Rohit Sharma was given the captaincy, it was taken over by Ricky Ponting midway through the season. This is the “All the senior boys, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Ricky Ponting, supported Rohit,” Uthappa said on the TRS podcast.