Former Indian cricketer Anjum Chopra has emphasized the importance of understanding Mumbai Indians’ (MI) perspective behind appointing Hardik Pandya as their new captain in place of Rohit Sharma.
The trade bringing Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024 auction generated significant buzz on social media. However, the announcement of Pandya as the franchise’s new captain was met with intense scrutiny and discussion with Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians fans burning down MI flags and franchise jerseys.
A player’s job is to play the game- Anjum Chopra
Speaking to TOI, Anjum Chopra attempted to analyze Mumbai Indians’ rationale behind selecting Hardik Pandya as Rohit Sharma’s successor ahead of IPL 2024.
“A player’s job is to play the game. You always walk into a team as a player. You never walk into a team as a captain. How we are seeing from the outside, how the franchise is looking at it from the inside, and now players are looking at it, they have their reasons. It wouldn’t have been easy to replace a player and captain of Rohit Sharma’s stature. But someday that will happen,” she said.
In a recent interview with Smash Sports, Mumbai Indians’ head coach Mark Boucher attempted to explain the reasoning behind Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as captain. However, Rohit’s wife, Ritika, commented on the Instagram video, suggesting that the explanation was incorrect. This added further controversy to the situation.
It’s about balancing things considering the present and future of the team- Anjum Chopra
Anjum Chopra also discussed the significance of the moment when Rohit Sharma was initially appointed as Mumbai Indians’ captain in IPL 2013. At that time, the team still had stalwarts like Ricky Ponting, Harbhajan Singh, and Sachin Tendulkar in their ranks. Anjum Chopra believes it is crucial for Mumbai Indians to focus on the team’s future and make tough decisions if necessary.
“When Rohit was given captaincy for Mumbai Indians, it wouldn’t have been a very easy decision. At that time many stalwarts and experienced players were playing and Rohit was given the captaincy. MI gave him the captaincy because of his ability and Rohit went on to guide MI to five title wins. Let’s not run into emotions. It’s about balancing things considering the present and future of the team,” Anjum Chopra stated.
Only time will tell whether Mumbai Indians’ decision to appoint Hardik Pandya as captain could potentially create divisions within the dressing room and impact their performance on the field. MI is set to commence their IPL 2024 campaign against Hardik’s former team, the Gujarat Titans, in Ahmedabad on March 24th.
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