‘It happened so quickly’: Ex-cricketer's explosive views on Rohit Sharma's captaincy removal by MI

Wasim Jaffer, a former opener for India, has provided insight into the Mumbai Indians' decision to replace Rohit Sharma as captain with Hardik Pandya ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Jaffer expressed his disbelief at how quickly the Mumbai Indians "moved on" from Rohit Sharma, saying it was unexpected.

3 Things you need to know: 

• Mumbai Indians appointed Hardik Pandya as their new captain
• Wasim Jaffer surprised by the sudden decision to replace Rohit Sharma
• Jaffer throws light on Hardik Pandya's  limited experience

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Wasim Jaffer was surprised with the decision to replace Rohit Sharma

Wasim Jaffer, a former opener for the Indian cricket team, expressed surprise at the Mumbai Indians' choice to choose Hardik Pandya as captain before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. With Hardik's selection, MI captain Rohit Sharma's ten-year leadership career came to an end with MI. During that time, Rohit led them to five IPL championships, which is an outstanding record for any captain. In a recent conversation, Jaffer expressed surprise at how quickly MI moved on from Rohit in the wake of Hardik's return to the team and questioned whether Rohit was notified in advance of this decision.

"I'm surprised that MI has moved from Rohit Sharma so early. It happened so quickly, I'm also a little surprised. When they did the trade, it was probably communicated to Hardik that he was going to become the captain. But whether it was communicated to Rohit, I don't know," Jaffer said on ESPNCricInfo 

"There were a couple of guys who were pretty hopeful of becoming the captain. One of them is Suryakumar Yadav, who is captaining the Indian team. He has captained really well. Jasprit Bumrah as well, he captained India in Tests. I hope it has been communicated really well. It was going to happen, but it happening straightaway this season, I am a little surprised," he added.

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In the previous two seasons, Hardik was the captain of the Gujarat Titans, and in 2022, he even helped the team win the championship in their first year of participation in IPL. Before the new season begins, the all-rounder accomplished an incredible trade move to return to MI.
Jaffer was also curious about how the two players' dynamic would change if Hardik plays under Rohit's guidance in the T20 World Cup 2024 and what MI's decision would mean for their relationship.

"It will be interesting to see if he (Rohit Sharma) will captain in the T20 World Cup, that is going to be seen. Because, then again he is captain and Hardik will play under him. So, how does that happen?," he said.