Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya- (Source:@Johns/X.com)
The 18th edition of Indian Premier League kickstarts on March 22 when KKR takes on RCB at the Eden Gardens. Meanwhile, five-time winners Mumbai Indians will start their campaign on Sunday when they lock horns against Chennai Super Kings in a high-octane thriller.
Hardik Pandya To Miss MI's Opening Match
However, the Men in Blue have already dealt a blow ahead of their season opener as regular skipper Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the first match because of disciplinary action that he was slapped with during MI's last group-stage match in IPL 2024.
Now with Pandya out for tie against CSK, MI management have a important decision that lies ahead of them, which is to select a captain. The question is whether Rohit Sharma would return to lead MI or the five-time winners would turn their eye towards someone else, similar to how Virat Kohli hasn't return to captaining RCB after leaving that role in 2021.
Should Rohit Sharma Return To lead MI For CSK Match?
If we look at Rohit's numbers against CSK, then he is one of the most successful player and captain. Talking about his leadership record against the Super Kings, then the hitman has led the Men in Blue 22 times against CSK and won 12 matches.
Rohit Sharma's Captaincy Record vs CSK
| Criteria | Data |
|---|---|
| Matches Captained | 22 |
| Won | 12 |
| Lost | 10 |
| Win % | 54.5 |
Further, talking about his batting numbers then the hitman has 896 runs in 34 innings against the Super Kings. Further, his best score against the Men in Yellow came in IPL 2024 when he scored 105 to bring up his maiden century against CSK. Further, the decision to remove Rohit as captain was taken for the hitman to focus just as a batter.
Despite the criticism, the move turned out to be gold as Rohit produced his best season with the bat in last 10 years. He scored 417 runs in 14 innings and averaged 32.08.
Rohit Sharma's Stats vs CSK
| Criteria | Data |
|---|---|
| Matches | 34 |
| Runs | 896 |
| Average | 29.86 |
| 50/100 | 7/1 |
It is further worth noting that Rohit is the third-leading run-getter against CSK only behind Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan.
Conclusion
Despite it being for just one match, MI shouldn't ask Rohit to lead the side against CSK and let the hitman focus just as a batter and contribute with the bat similar to IPL 2024. Further, the Men in Blue should revert to someone like Suryakumar Yadav to lead the Indians for their season opener.
Getting Rohit to lead the side for just a single match won't make much sense as MI wouldn't afford to see Rohit not scoring runs under the pressure of captaincy and start the tournament on a sour note.
 "Abhinav Tyagi")
