India's T20 and ODI World Cup-winning all-rounder Yuvraj Singh believes that Rohit Sharma should have stayed captain of Mumbai Indians for one more Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season with Hardik Pandya as his deputy.
Yuvraj says Pandya should have been vice-captain
Many former cricketers have shared their point of view on Pandya taking over captaincy while Rohit is still leading the Indian side across formats. Yuvraj joined the bandwagon during a recent interaction on Star Sports ahead of the 17th season of IPL.
“Rohit Sharma is a 5-time IPL winner as a captain. Removing him is a big decision. I would have gotten someone in, like they brought Hardik (Pandya), but I still would have given Rohit one more season and let Hardik be the vice captain and see how the whole franchise works," said Yuvraj.
Yuvraj cautions Pandya about big responsibility
However, Yuvraj understands the franchise's need to plan for the future which was the main reason behind handing the reins to the 30-year-old.
“I understand from the franchise's point of view, they have to see the future of the franchise. But then again, Rohit is captaining India and still playing well, so it's a big decision,” he added.
The southpaw considers Pandya a 'great talent' but believes that leading a big franchise like MI will be a big challenge for Pandya who led the Gujarat Titans (GT) to a title win in their debut IPL season.
"In terms of talent, yes, he has great talent. Being captain of Gujarat will be different from being captain of Mumbai. Expectations are a lot. Mumbai Indians have been a big side," he opined.
MI’s initial IPL schedule
Five-time IPL champions MI will start their campaign against Pandya’s former franchise GT in Ahmedabad on March 24.
In the initial schedule announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), MI will play their second away game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 27. Their home games will be against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 1 and April 7 respectively.
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