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India captain Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad has expressed his views on the controversial Mumbai Indians (MI) captaincy change that occurred before the IPL 2024. He believes Rohit Sharma should have remained the team's captain, particularly given his proven leadership abilities.
The decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as captain of the Mumbai Indians became a major talking point leading up to and throughout the IPL 2024. The franchise's move was met with massive backlash from fans, who consistently booed the new captain. Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy of the Mumbai Indians in 2013 and subsequently led the team to five IPL titles. His leadership was widely credited as a key factor in the team's sustained success.
Dinesh Lad on Mumbai Indians contentious captaincy change
Rohit's tenure as captain propelled the Mumbai Indians to the pinnacle of IPL success, making them one of the league's most decorated franchises. Moreover, he stands as the team's leading run-scorer. Given his stature as one of India's most prominent cricketers, the manner he was removed from MI captaincy was unexpected for many.
Dinesh Lad, addressing the situation, pointed out that Rohit Sharma never expressed a desire to step down or leave the team. He argued that the franchise's decision to remove him was unwarranted. During a podcast appearance, Lad elaborated on his perspective, expressing his disapproval of the way the situation was handled.
“It was the franchise's decision. Rohit didn't say that he didn't want to play. Basically, he shouldn't have lost the captaincy, Rohit should've been captain. The way he led the Mumbai Indians to 5 IPL titles, he should've been the skipper. But it was the franchise's decision, I can't say anything on that," Dinesh Lad said during a podcast.
Dinesh also touched base on the topic of widespread discontent among MI fans regarding Hardik Pandya's appointment as captain. However, he refrained from directly commenting on the fan reaction, by saying that the situation should not be framed as a personal conflict between Pandya and Rohit. Instead, he stressed that the decision to change the captaincy was solely the franchise's responsibility.
"I don't know the reasons for why it happened. I don't want to speak anything on that. He's a good cricketer. As I said earlier, it was the franchise's decision, it wasn't Hardik vs Rohit,” he added.
During the IPL 2024 season, speculation swirled regarding a potential rift between Rohit and Hardik Pandya. However, these rumors appear to have subsided following India's title triumph in the T20 World Cup 2024, where the two players were observed to be interacting positively.
Yet again the duo will be seen playing alongside each other in the upcoming IPL 2025 which is set to start from March 22. MI will begin their campaign on March 23 with a clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Mumbai Indians' full schedule for IPL 2025:
March 23: MI vs Chennai Super Kings, M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
March 29: MI vs Gujarat Titans, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
March 31: MI vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
April 4: MI vs Lucknow Super Giants, BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
April 7: MI vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
April 13: MI vs Delhi Capitals, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
April 17: MI vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
April 20: MI vs Chennai Super Kings, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
April 23: MI vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
April 27: MI vs Lucknow Super Giants, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
May 1: MI vs Rajasthan Royals, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
May 6: MI vs Gujarat Titans, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
May 11: MI vs Punjab Kings, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
May 15: MI vs Delhi Capitals, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Mumbai Indians' full squad for IPL 2025:
Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult (Rs. 12.50 crore), Naman Dhir (Rs. 5.25 crore), Robin Minz (Rs. 65 lakh), Karn Sharma (Rs. 50 lakh), Ryan Rickelton (Rs. 1 crore), Deepak Chahar (Rs. 9.25 crore), Allah Ghazanfar (Rs. 4.80 crore), Will Jacks (Rs. 5.25 crore), Ashwani Kumar (Rs. 30 lakh), Mitchell Santner (Rs. 2 crore), Reece Topley (Rs. 75 lakh), Krishnan Shrijith (Rs. 30 lakh), Raj Angad Bawa (Rs. 30 lakh), Satyanarayana Raju (Rs. 30 lakh), Bevon Jacobs (Rs. 30 lakh), Arjun Tendulkar (Rs. 30 lakh), Lizaad Williams (Rs. 75 lakh), Vignesh Puthur (Rs. 30 lakh).
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