When Kieron Pollard Praised Rohit Sharma's Captaincy At Mumbai Indians

image-lqame7kbRohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard (x.com)

In a significant turn of events, Mumbai Indians brought conclusion to Rohit Sharma’s decade-long leadership stint by replacing him with Hardik Pandya. The franchise made the announcement in December 2023, i.e.; more than 10 years after promoting Sharma as captain midway into the 2013 season of the tournament.

The legendary Indian opener led Mumbai Indians to five title wins across 11 seasons, as well as a Champions League T20 trophy back in 2013 to become one of the most successful skippers in IPL history.

On the backdrop of Sharma’s unexpected demotion, here at OneCricket, we take a look back at a time when fellow Mumbai Indians zealot Kieron Pollard described the five-time IPL winning captain a ‘quick learner’ who always had great leadership potential.

When Kieron Pollard praised Rohit Sharma’s captaincy

A week after Rohit Sharma completed 10 years as Mumbai Indians skipper in April 2023, fellow franchise veteran Kieron Pollard praised the Indian cricketer and recalled his initial days as captain. Commemorating Sharma’s illustrious journey at the top, the West Indies all-rounder said:

“He’s grown as a leader. I mean he’s grown into leadership. Obviously, it was entrusted onto him in 2013 in the middle of a season. He was still pretty young at that point in time.”

Pollard, who was Mumbai Indians batting coach at the time, also described the franchise fortunate enough of having someone like Rohit Sharma as their leader. He added:

“That shows you that a person has a great acumen of what he can accomplish and we are lucky to have him as a leader. He has a wealth of experience, so it’s a matter of tapping into that and continuing to see him grow.”

Rohit was appointed as Mumbai Indians’ full-time skipper halfway into the 2013 edition of the tournament by replacing self-exiled Ricky Ponting. In his maiden leadership assignment, the cricketer led the franchise to title glory and added four more trophies to their cabinet in the subsequent 10 years to make them the most decorated franchise in IPL history.

However, under his leadership, Mumbai Indians has not reached an IPL final since winning the 2020 edition in UAE, thus prompting the franchise to replace him with IPL 2022 winning captain Hardik Pandya.