IPL 2024: This is The MAKE IT or BREAK IT season for Rohit Sharma's legacy as Team India captain

In 2021 Rohit Sharma was announced as the new India captain in T20I and ODIs. The news was met with a lot of mixed opinions as Virat Kohli was ousted as the ODI skipper by the BCCI. Rohit Sharma as the skipper who won 5 Indian Premier League titles and his appointment as the India captain was a no-brainer.

BCCI decided it was time to push Rohit Sharma to leadership position before it's too late. The then BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated that Rohit's pedigree in the IPL was a big factor in his appointment.

However, everything has not gone to plan in Rohit Sharma's reign. Despite India being the dominant cricket side in the world, they have failed to capture the coveted World Cup in two attempts in 2022 and 2023 under Rohit's leadership. The T20 World Cup 2022 saw India get knocked out by eventual winners England in a humiliating manner.

Rohit Sharma: The man to finally end India's ICC title drought?

Then came the 2023 ODI World Cup. Team India dominated every single team in the WC at home and a title just seemed like a formality. But when the lights shined at the Narendra  Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Team India were found wanting at the crucial stage. India were outsmarted, outmaneuvered and outplayed by Pat Cummins-led Australian side in the final.

Questions were posed about Rohit Sharma's leadership qualities after India lost the ODI World Cup final despite being heavy favourites to win. India completely misjudged the pitch in the final and paid for it big time and Rohit Sharma's position came under scrutiny.

The man who outsmarted even MS Dhoni and was thought to be the one to finally end India's ICC title drought AGAIN came up short in knockout matches.

Mumbai Indians swiftly removed Rohit Sharma as captain and replaced him with Hardik Pandya. As it happens in Indian cricket, the move was met with a lot of mixed emotions. The current India skipper was REMOVED by MI after a lack of titles in recent years.

This resulted in Rohit's position as India captain in T20I format also coming under doubt. Many demanded India to go with a different skipper for the T20 World Cup 2024 with Hardik's name coming to the forefront. But all the doubts were put to rest by BCCI as they announced Rohit to be the one to lead India in the T20 World Cup 2024.

If Rohit doesn't deliver, then his legacy as India's skipper might forever be tainted

However, this IPL season will be extremely crucial for Rohit Sharma on a personal level. He needs to prove to the world that he is still the lethal batter in IPL that everyone might have forgotten. He needs to show MI and the world that he is known as HITMAN for a good reason and get into good rhythm ahead of the crucial World Cup in USA and West Indies.

Rohit Sharma also needs to pick the best possible squad for T20 World Cup in 2024 and IPL is the only platform where players can be judged. It is extremely crucial for India to pick the best squad and get the right players in before the T20 WC to undo the mistakes of the past two editions of T20 WC.

Rohit needs to show Mumbai Indians that he is still one of the most lethal batters in world cricket and on top of that keep an eye out on all the Indian players who are performing well in the IPL 2024. Any mistakes in the assessment and decision-making by Rohit might turn out to be fatal in his legacy as Team India skipper.

Nothing less than a T20 World Cup triumph will satisfy Indian fans. If Rohit doesn't deliver, then his legacy as India's skipper might forever be tainted. This might be the last World Cup that Rohit Sharma might lead and HITMAN needs to make all the correct decisions this time to cement his position as one of India's greatest leaders.

If India don't win the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit will most probably have to relinquish the leadership position and it might just be Hardik Pandya who takes his position in the Indian side as well.