When the Mumbai Indians welcomed Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya back to the team two years after he was cut, they pulled off one of the more shocking IPL transactions in the competition’s short history. Then, they made headlines once more when they removed Rohit Sharma—the guy who captained them to five IPL championships—from the captaincy.
While MI received a lot of backlash from its supporters on social media for the leadership change, head coach Mark Boucher said, in his first public comments, that it was a “cricketing decision.”
“I believe that was just a decision made for cricket. The window to see Hardik return to the playing field was visible. It’s a transitional period for me. Many people in India are unaware that although people there can be quite emotional, you can remove those feelings from the situation. I believe the choice was made more from a cricket perspective, and I do believe it will bring out the best in both Rohit the player and the person. Mark Boucher stated on the Smash Sports podcast, “Just let him go out and enjoy and score some good runs.”
Boucher emphasized that the MI thought tank wants to relieve Rohit of the pressure and publicity that comes with being captain, given he has had a few below-average seasons at bat. When his side was at the bottom of the standings in 2022, Rohit scored 268 goals at a strike rate of 120.18. He performed better in 2023 (332 runs at 132.80), but his team was defeated in the second qualifying round.
“One thing about Ro (Rohit) that I did notice is that he is an amazing man. He has been captaining the Mumbai Indians for a very long time, and he has performed admirably. He is now the leader of India as well. He enters a place where there are just cameras, and he is quite busy. Although he hasn’t played well at the bat in a few seasons, he has performed admirably as a captain.
“And I just thought, you know, that maybe this is the chance for him to step as a player when we’re talking with the entire Mumbai Indians squad.
We think he can bring a lot of value and just enjoy the game without the attention that comes with being a captain,” Boucher remarked.
The hoopla will still surround him because he will still captain India, but perhaps when he plays in the IPL, it will relieve some of the burden on him to lead the team and allow us to see the best of Rohit Sharma. We hope to see him having fun and enjoying some time with his lovely family while grinning.”
Boucher commended Hardik, Rohit’s replacement, for his quick start over the previous two seasons. The Gujarat Titans, who selected Hardik before to the 2022 season’s auction, won the championship that year and finished second in 2023.
“He is an Indians fan from Mumbai. He joined another team, where he finished second in his second year after winning the championship in the first. Thus, it’s clear that they have excellent leadership qualities as well,” Boucher remarked.