'Surprised to see MI move on from Rohit Sharma so early'

Mumbai Indians’ decision to replace Rohit Sharma as captain and appoint Hardik Pandya has irked fans and former cricketers alike.

Ever since taking over the reins in 2013, Rohit has led MI to five IPL titles.

Surprised at Mumbai’s decision to move on from Rohit Sharma, former India opener Wasim Jaffer said the decision was quite ‘unexpected’.

“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 captain. But whether it was communicated to Rohit, I don’t know,” Jaffer said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

MI announced the captaincy change a month after Hardik’s move from Gujarat Titans. In the last two seasons, Hardik led the Titans.

Hardik had been an important player for the five-time champs during his tenure from 2015 to 2021. As he returns to MI and takes over captaincy, questions are being raised about Rohit’s future in the shortest format of the game.

Talking about Rohit – the Indian skipper, Jaffer said it’ll be interesting to see cause Pandya will be playing under him then. A baffled Jaffer said, “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?”