Rise of Rohit Sharma as MI Captain: Look at High-points of His Captaincy Tenure at Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma’s decade-long reign as Mumbai Indians captain came to an end on Friday as the franchise named Hardik Pandya as their skipper for IPL 2024. Rohit has been retained by Mumbai Indians but after 10 years he will play as a specialist batter for them. The Hitman joined Mumbai Indians in 2011 and since then he has been a pivotal part of the franchise and led them to their five league title triumphs.

During his 10-year-long tenure, Rohit led MI to five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Rohit developed into an astute leader ever since he took over mid-way from Ricky Ponting in the 2013 IPL season and earned widespread praise for making bowling and fielding placement changes quickly, with an emphasis on being tactically sharp and firmly controlling the proceedings of the game.

Here is a look at the high points of Rohit’s captaincy at Mumbai Indians.

Appointment as Captain: It was in 2013 when a 25-year-old Rohit was named the captain of Mumbai Indians after they lost the first four matches and Ricky Ponting decided to relinquish his position for the betterment of the side. Rohit took over the charge and everything changed for Mumbai Indians after that.

First League Title as Skipper: After becoming skipper, Rohit led MI from the front by scoring 538 runs and guided them to their maiden IPL title which was the start of a glorious era for both MI and a young Rohit Sharma.

Champions League T20 Title: Rohit also led MI to their second CLT20 title (tournament shelved now) in his first year as skipper which established him as a bonafide skipper. Mumbai beat Rajasthan Royals in the final as Rohit added the big trophy under his kitty to make the year even more memorable for him.

First Team to Win Three League Titles: Mumbai Indians created several memorable moments under Rohit’s captaincy as one of them was becoming the first team to win the league title thrice. In the 2017 season, Rohit’s inspirational captaincy and tactical masterclass helped Mumbai Indians outclass Rising Pune Supergiants in the close final.

Five Titles as Captain: Rohit went on to script history by becoming the first player to lead a team to five IPL titles. It was a glorious achievement for Mumbai as they outclassed Delhi Capitals in the final to add a record fifth IPL trophy to their cabinet.