FEATURES
Follow UsDecember 15, 2023: Mumbai Indians fans were in a split.
Some were happy with the cut-throat sporting decision, while others were left annoyed and grieved that their city’s king, Rohit Sharma, had his crown thrown open in the public sphere.
Over three lakh people were left disappointed, and only more will (un)follow as Mumbai Indians’ took the biggest decision of the last decade by announcing all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the new king in the West. When the trade from Gujarat Titans was announced, it was only a matter of time before the franchise turned its crown towards their jewel-faced prince.
There’s this joke that ran for the longest time after Mumbai Indians came out of the 2020 IPL unscathed. It was on the lines of Give me such a talented team, and even I will win you an IPL title.
It ran for the longest time. Maybe for some, it still is a running joke.
It wasn’t as if Rohit just succeeded an already rich functional dynasty; he created the legacy brick-by-brick in franchise cricket’s history. When a 26-year-old Rohit took over the captaincy duties from Ricky Ponting, little did he know that he was about to paint the whole goddamn country blue.
Unlike today, captaincy announcements were almost an afterthought back in 2013, when the Indian opener was named as the franchise’s face. It was just minutes before a toss, and he replaced a behemoth in the form of Ponting.
Even after a bitter-loss defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the first qualifier, a masterclass in the final ensured that Mumbai won their first IPL, nearly six years after the tournament’s inception.
In just plain numbers, Rohit, as Mumbai Indians’ skipper, has won 87 games, has a win percentage of 55%, and, more importantly, has WON FIVE TITLES. That’s the joint-most titles for any skipper in IPL history, and the only other man with him - MS Dhoni - has already been revered as one of the all-time great captains.
That’s already an achievement and a half, but what the Nagpur-born cricketer did was more than that; he created and envisioned a culture along with the owners that revolutionised franchise cricket’s history.
*****
“I believe in everyone, smile everybody smile. Whether we lose, whether we win, we have to smile. We have to smile” is one of the quotes that has made the rounds in the aftermath of the captaincy change. It is from a dressing room chat, where Rohit is seen addressing his room with these words.
In more ways than one, it is one of the attributes of Mumbai’s dynasty: belief in everyone. It is a team that is made on the principles of teamwork, and Rohit, as a leader, was the epitome of the team’s ethos.
Whether it was trusting the likes of Rishi Dhawan or Aditya Tare in 2013, or whether it was giving youngsters like Ishan Kishan a long rope, or even infusing some one of the brightest talents such as Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik or Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai’s dynasty relied on trust as a major factor in the dressing room.
But tactically, Rohit’s men always found a way to outshine the opponents. In 2013, leading into the final against CSK, Mumbai hardly used Lasith Malinga too much with the new ball, but in that final, the decision to give Malinga a stretch in the powerplay proved to be too costly for the Super Kings, who lost both Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina. It was one of Rohit's first masterclass lessons as a skipper in IPL.
“We were not using Malinga with the new ball. Malinga is our champion bowler, best bowler in the tournament, he has to bowl the first ball and get their best batter - Hussey - out. Hussey and Raina topped the run-scoring for CSK, and our plan was to remove them. Malinga picked up both the wickets,” Rohit recalled in a chat with Star Sports.
In 2015, Rohit’s trust in senior spinner Harbhajan Singh proved to be yet another match-winning masterstroke. Until then, Harbhajan had already given away 22 runs in two overs. But then the twin wickets of Raina and Dwayne Smith once again sealed the fate against MS Dhoni’s men.
It wasn’t just a statement; it was one of the highest orders - beating one of the most consistent teams the IPL has ever seen twice in finals. In 2017, it was how Rohit slowed down the game before Mitchell Johnson was entrusted with the final over. Two years later, it was how he trusted Malinga with the final over, defending just nine.
For others, it might just seem like obvious decisions, but in a game that is filled with such high intensity and pressure, where every move is microscopically critiqued, Rohit’s captaincy stood the test of time. It isn’t just pure coincidence that Mumbai’s best years coincided with them appointing the Nagpur-born opener as their captain.
*****
"Ro,
In 2013 you took over as captain of MI. You asked us to Believe. In victories & defeats, you asked us to Smile. 10 years & 6 trophies later, here we are. Our forever captain your legacy will be etched in Blue & Gold. Thank you, Captain RO," wrote MI on X (formerly Twitter).
It might be ironic for some sections of the fans, who dearly wanted the skipper Rohit to have one last dance. But considering how Mumbai is one of the no-nonsense franchises in the country, known for making cut-throat decisions, it was a decision that made the perfect sense.
Whether it was releasing Ambati Rayudu and Harbhajan Singh or whether it was leaving out Kieron Pollard from the starting XI, Mumbai have always made the hard calls and taken the tough decisions.
The fact that Rohit’s contribution as a batter - 2569 runs at an average of 34.72 and a strike-rate of 134.3 - clearly showed how the pressure of leadership never affected the leader in their wins.
But what Rohit’s legacy will ensure is that the word ‘believe’ was tailor-made to define his captaincy. If there was ever going to be one word, believe was, is and will always be that one word.
While Mumbai might have lost two, three or even four lakh followers, they sure have lost a vocal leader in Rohit. It's the end of a legacy but not fitting for someone who has led the franchise to five IPL titles.
Ironically, there wasn't belief anymore.
