Indian actor Riteish Deshmukh has shared his thoughts on the leadership dynamics within the Mumbai Indians (MI) camp, asserting that despite Hardik Pandya taking over as captain, Rohit Sharma remains the ‘raja’ (king) of Mumbai. This transition, which occurred ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, was far from smooth, as many fans were displeased with Rohit’s unceremonious removal from the captaincy.
During a recent appearance on journalist Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Riteish was asked to identify who he believes is the true leader of Mumbai. Without hesitation, the actor responded, “If you were to ask me who the raja of Mumbai is, it would be Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya is captain, but raja is still Rohit Sharma.”
This statement reflects the sentiments of many MI supporters who have struggled to accept the change in leadership. Hardik Pandya faced significant backlash from fans, including being booed at the Wankhede Stadium, MI’s home ground. His tenure as captain was also marred by his own underwhelming performances. Across 13 innings, Hardik managed to score only 216 runs at an average of 18.00, and he took 11 wickets from 12 outings with an economy rate of 10.75. MI’s dismal performance, finishing last with only four wins out of 14 fixtures, further compounded the criticism directed at him.
In a surprising turn of events, Hardik Pandya was also overlooked for India’s T20I captaincy following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format. Despite being the vice-captain during India‘s triumphant 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, where they ended an 11-year ICC trophy drought by defeating South Africa in the final, Hardik was not named the successor. Instead, the selectors appointed Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I skipper for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, which starts on July 27.
Adding to the shake-up, Shubman Gill has been named vice-captain in the two white-ball formats, while Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the ODI and Test sides. Rohit is set to be back in action for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, beginning on August 2.
This series of decisions has left many cricket fans and analysts speculating about the future of Indian cricket and the leadership roles within the team. As Hardik Pandya prepares to play under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy, all eyes will be on how these changes impact team dynamics and performance in the upcoming matches.
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