Ex-Star On How Rohit Sharma Backed Duo Says, “MI Wanted To Release Jasprit Bumrah...Same With Hardik Pandya”
In the IPL 2024, the Mumbai Indians will have a fresh look, with Hardik Pandya leading the five-time champions. The change in captaincy from Rohit Sharma to Pandya has been a hot topic of debate on social media. Rohit Sharma led the side to five titles, but before the IPL 2024, MI sprung a surprise by recruiting Pandya from the Gujarat Titans. Hardik Pandya had left the Mumbai Indians earlier to join the Gujarat Titans as skipper. The former Indian cricket team wicketkeeper and ex-Mumbai Indians Parthiv Patel shared an interesting incident in the Mumbai Indians camp during his time with the side.
Parthiv said, “Rohit is always with the players, and the biggest examples of it are JaspritBumrah and Hardik Pandya. Bumrah joined MI for the first time in 2014, but when he played his first season in 2015, it didn’t turn out that well. It was like he was to be released mid-season, but Rohit felt this player was going to shine and that they should keep him. And you saw how, in 2016, Bumrah’s performance reached the next level.”
He further added, “Same with Hardik Pandya. When he joined in 2015, he became quite the rage, but in 2016, he had a bad season. The thing is, when you’re an uncapped player, franchises release you quickly and then assess how a player is performing in the Ranji Trophy or other domestic matches before maybe taking them back. But Rohit did not let it happen. That’s why these guys went on to become the players that they did.