Rohit Sharma took over the team’s captaincy in 2013 and led the team to a championship in his very first season. Under his leadership, Mumbai also managed to win titles in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. However, this time Rohit was not the captain, since he was abruptly replaced by Hardik Pandya as the captain just after the IPL 2024 auctions ended.
Rohit Sharma is counted among the most successful captains in IPL history. Under his leadership, Mumbai Indians won the IPL title five times. But this time, Mumbai made a change in captaincy, replacing Rohit with Hardik Pandya. As soon as this change was announced, there were talks about the team being divided into two factions. This has led to the question of whether Rohit Sharma played his last match in the Mumbai Indians jersey on May 17 at Wankhede Stadium.
Reports of Two Groups in MI Camp
Several media reports have mentioned that the Mumbai team is currently divided into two factions, one supporting Rohit and the other supporting Pandya. This has led to speculation that this could be Rohit’s last season with Mumbai.
Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav seem to strongly support Rohit Sharma. It was even reported that all three of them had left the practice nets when Hardik Pandya came to practice there. On the other hand, Ishan Kishan seems to be siding with Pandya.
As far as the coaches are concerned, Hardik Pandya seems to have the support of both the head coach Mark Boucher and Kieron Pollard.
Did Rohit Play His Last Match as a MI Player on 17 May?
The match on May 17 was Mumbai’s last match of the season, raising questions about whether Rohit has played his last match for Mumbai. Another reason for this speculation is the upcoming mega auction next year.
Mumbai did not make Rohit the captain this time, and they might decide not to retain him next year. Alternatively, Rohit might choose to leave the team himself after Pandya became the captain. If Rohit leaves Mumbai, he could be seen in a new team next year. Many teams need a captain like him.
Many franchises have already expressed interest in acquiring the services of Rohit Sharma for their respective teams. It was widely reported that Preity Zinta even went on to say that she would “be willing to buy Rohit Sharma at any cost if he comes into the auction!”bet her life” to purchase Rohit Sharma if he comes in the mega auction.
However, she later clarified that she never made such a statement and that they were all false reports.
Will Rohit Sharma Retire?
Recently, a video of Rohit with Kolkata Knight Riders’ assistant coach Abhishek Nayar went viral, in which Rohit is reportedly saying that this is his last year. This video was posted by KKR and was later removed, adding to the speculation that Rohit might retire from IPL next year.
Mumbai fans would never want Rohit to leave their team, as under his captaincy, the team lifted the trophy five times. Mumbai fans were also disappointed when Rohit was removed from the captaincy. However, only Rohit knows whether this was his last match in the Mumbai jersey or not.