While the Mumbai Indians (MI) fans are coming to terms with the end of the era of captain Rohit Sharma, some of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans expressed their wish for Rohit to join CSK and MS Dhoni for one last ride.
MI vs CSK and Rohit Sharma vs MS Dhoni have been the defining rivalry in IPL history, with both captains leading their franchises to 5 IPL titles.
Now, somewhat of a tinge will be taken away from their rivalry, which is called the El Clásico of the IPL, now that Rohit Sharma isn’t the captain of the Mumbai Indians anymore.
MI have not reached an IPL final in the last three seasons while MS Dhoni led them to two IPL trophies in last three seasons.
Rohit Sharma was replaced as the MI captain on Friday, with MI announcing that Hardik Pandya will lead them moving forward from IPL 2024. Hardik Pandya was traded back to MI, where he spent 7 seasons from 2015 to 2021, after captaining the Gujarat Titans for two seasons. Pandya led GT to two consecutive IPL finals, winning one title and losing this year’s final on the last ball.
Some CSK fans, interestingly, are wishing that Rohit Sharma join CSK and partner with MS Dhoni for IPL 2024, which could very well be the last IPL season for the 42-year-old Dhoni.
CSK fans want Rohit Sharma to team up with MS Dhoni for IPL 2024 after being sacked as captain by MI:
Mahela Jayawardene, the Global Head of Performance of the Mumbai Indians, said that appointing Hardik as their new captain, while Rohit Sharma still being an active player, was a decision they made with the future in mind.
Pandya has proven himself as a brilliant captain by leading the Gujarat Titans to two consecutive IPL finals, winning one and losing one.
Jayawardene said: “It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season.”
