Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar
said making Hardik Pandya the captain of the Mumbai Indian or MI may or may not
benefit the franchise.
While speaking at Star Sports, Gavaskar
said the 30-year-old has already delivered results while leading the Gujarat
Titans or GT. He added that taking a “fresh thinking” is needed.
“Hardik is a young and fresh captain,
who has delivered the results. He led the Gujarat Titans to two IPL finals and
achieved a title once. So pretty sure they made him captain keeping all this in
mind. Sometimes you need fresh thinking, and Hardik can bring that. Making
Hardik captain may or may not benefit the team, but it sure won’t hurt them,”
Gavaskar said.
He further added that the Mumbai-based
franchise decided for their benefit and it should not be discussed what is
right or wrong.
The former cricketer pointed out Mi’s
performance last year and said even though they have qualified for the IPL 2023
playoffs, the “josh” was missing in Rohit Sharma. He added Rohit has scored
crucial runs for the franchise.
“We should not discuss what is right or
wrong. The decision taken by Mumbai Indians is for the benefit of their team.
In the last two years, Rohit’s contributions with the bat were scarce. He used
to score heavily, and two seasons ago if I’m not wrong, MI finished last. Last
year, they qualified for the Playoffs but the josh that we are used to seeing
in him, has been missing. Perhaps he is tired having played non-stop cricket,
or captaining India,” he added.
Hardik made a return to the five-time
champions in a trade deal between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians ahead of
the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. While many expected Hardik to play under
Rohit’s captaincy, MI’s decision to hand the captaincy to the 30-year-old
all-rounder earlier this week caught many by surprise.
ANI
