Mumbai Indians (MI) made a shocking decision ahead of the upcoming season, naming Hardik Pandya as the captain of the franchise. The franchise roped in Hardik from
Gujarat Titans as part of an all cash trade deal ahead of the auction. Just a few days before the auction, the five-time champions announced that Hardik will replace the long-serving Rohit Sharma as the captain of the franchise. The decision came as a shock to many, but not former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, who felt that this is the right time for a change.
Now, Manjrekar has questioned Rohit's role as a batter in the shortest format of the game.
"Rohit Sharma, for me, as a batter, is a question mark in
T20 cricket. has shown promise, the way he played in the fifty-over World Cups. But that's a completely different format, when you know you have fifty overs. They bat in that fashion. Bowlers just bowl differently in 50 overs as well," Manjrekar said on-air during the second ODI between India and
South Africa.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav is the only reliable batter in Mr's line-up.
"Ishan Kishan, from couple of seasons before
MI paid the big bucks... he is in the same kind of form. Tim David is still trying to fill the shoes of Kieron Pollard. On form, one player that you can maybe depend on, the player who you can expect to come good, is Suryakumar Yadav," he added.
On the decision to name Hardik as captain,
Mahela Jayawardene,
Mumbai Indians' Global Head of Cricket, admitted that it was a tough decision.
"The legacy is something we want to build on and make sure we keep fighting for those wins, those trophies. That's the focus going ahead. Probably, everyone in their eyes will think it is too soon, but it is a decision we had to make at some point," Jayawardene told Jio Cinema.
Notably, Rohit has also been missing from India's T201 setup, along with fellow batter Virat Kohli. Both
Rohit and
Virat last played a T20I in 2022.
Both players also opted out of the white-ball leg of the ongoing tour of South Africa. They will return to the team for the two-match Test series, starting with the first game from December 26 in Centurion.
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