'It happened so quickly...': Wasim Jaffer expresses surprise as Mumbai Indians make Hardik Pandya captain

NEW DELHI: The Mumbai Indians franchise announced

Hardik Pandya

on Friday as their captain for the upcoming 2024 IPL season, ending

Rohit Sharma

's ten-year stint at the helm.
Former India opener

Wasim Jaffer

expressed his astonishment at the quick transition, emphasizing Rohit's successful leadership that brought five IPL titles to the team.

"He did lead Gujarat well. There were a lot of question marks over his performances as he was back after a long layoff, and how he would captain a new franchise, how he would bat at number four – he answered all those questions in the first season (2022).

Even in the second season, he did well," said Jaffer in a video chat with ESPNCricinfo.

Hardik Pandya led Gujarat to the IPL title in their debut season in 2022 and was the Player of the Match in the final against Rajasthan Royals. Under his captaincy, Gujarat reached the IPL final again in 2023, finishing as runners-up to Chennai Super Kings.

Jaffer shared his surprise at Mumbai Indians moving on from Rohit Sharma so swiftly. "But I'm surprised that MI has moved on 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 is going to come in as the captain. But whether it was communicated to Rohit, I don't know."

While acknowledging other potential candidates for captaincy, such as Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, Jaffer questioned the timing of the decision.
"There were a couple of guys who were pretty hopeful of becoming the (MI) captain. One of them is Suryakumar Yadav, who is captaining the Indian (T20I) team. He was the one looking for an opportunity as he has captained (India recently) really well," he said.

Jaffer, who has served as a batting coach for Punjab Kings, also highlighted the challenges and relief associated with the captaincy role in the IPL.
He speculated on the impact of this change on Rohit Sharma's batting performance, stating, "He would have wanted the leadership to be taken away from him, so that he can focus on his batting."
The former opener concluded by posing an intriguing question about Rohit Sharma's potential captaincy role in the upcoming T20 World Cup, where he might captain the team with Hardik Pandya as a player. The dynamics of this scenario remain to be seen in the cricketing world.

Mumbai Indians, under their new captain Hardik Pandya, will be closely watched as they aim for further success in the 2024 IPL season.
(With inputs from IANS)