Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram spoke about the Mumbai Indians’ captaincy change ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He believes that the last-minute removal of Rohit Sharma as leader is the reason for the team’s poor performance in the league .
Mumbai Indians became the first team to be eliminated from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. They were eliminated from the tournament after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 57th match of the tournament on Wednesday (9 May) in Hyderabad.
The captaincy change ahead of IPL 2024 did not go well for Mumbai Indians. Before the tournament, they sacked Rohit Sharma as leader and appointed Hardik Pandya as captain. The all-rounder was transferred to the franchise from Gujarat Titans after leading the team for two years.
This came as a surprise to many when Rohit Sharma was removed as captain of the team. The opening batsman led the team to five league titles and made them the most successful players in the tournament. Many fans and experts criticized the team management for their decision.
Wasim Akram said a last-minute change in captaincy made a difference for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. In an interview with Sportskeeda, he said:
“Mumbai Indians have to go through a lot as a team. Last minute change in captain, huwa hai na Mumbai Indians ka, usse farak toh pada hai (The last minute change in captain definitely made a difference).”
Mumbai Indians have failed to win games despite having a star-studded lineup. The Hardik Pandya-led team played 12 matches in the tournament and won only 4 matches and lost 8 matches. They also have a poor NRR of -0.212.
Had you known it was cloudy and Rohit himself would have said, “I just want to play my cricket” – Wasim Akram on leading Mumbai Indians
Wasim Akram further stated that if Mumbai Indians had communicated earlier that they wanted to change captain, Rohit Sharma himself would have stated that he wanted to rest and play cricket.
Wasim Akram further claimed that Mumbai Indians should have made Hardik Pandya the vice-captain of the franchise in IPL 2024 and then Rohit Sharma would have handed over the baton to the all-rounder next year. He added:
“If these clouds turned out to be there and Rohit himself said, ‘I just want to play cricket and rest.’ Just play cricket and rest. If he had also quit the Indian captaincy, it would have been fine.
“He is also the captain of India. In my opinion, make Pandya vice-captain this year. (Rohit is also captain of India. MI should have appointed Hardik as vice-captain) Rohit will be captain next year and then I will relax and hand over the reins to Mumbai Indians. he concluded.