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Rohit Sharma is regarded as one of the best captains to grace the IPL. Since becoming captain in 2013, he won the franchise five IPL titles, the joint-most by any captain. Many have called him a people’s captain, who cares for his teammates. 

Parthiv Patel, who played for Mumbai Indians from 2015-2017, revealed how Rohit Sharma was integral in ensuring the future of two Indian stars, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Talking on the Legends Lounge Show, Patel revealed that Bumrah was close to being released in 2015, but the MI captain stopped it from happening. 

Rohit is always with the players, and the biggest examples of it are Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Bumrah joined MI for the first time in 2014, but when he played his first season in 2015 - it didn't turn out that well. It was like that he was to be released mid-season, but Rohit felt this player is going to shine and that they should keep him. And you saw how, from 2016, Bumrah's performance reached the next level. Parthiv Patel

He had a role to play in Pandya’s career as well. Pandya had impressed in his first season with the bat, but his form dropped the very next season. Being an uncapped player yet, the franchise was looking to release him, but Sharma stopped that as well. Both went on to become integral parts of the Indian team, with the duo even captaining the national team.

Yuvraj Singh unhappy with Mumbai Indians, claims Rohit Sharma deserved another season as captain

Yuvraj Singh played for the Mumbai Indians in 2019, winning the IPL under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. Singh recently spoke about how Hardik Pandya replaced Sharma as captain. He understood the move, but believed it was not required. 

Rohit Sharma is a 5-time IPL winner as a captain. Removing him is a big decision. I would have gotten someone in, like they brought Hardik (Pandya), but I still would have given Rohit one more season and let Hardik be the vice captain and see how the whole franchise works.  Yuvraj Singh said on Star Sports

Singh had earlier agreed with MI’s decision. In an interview with the Times of India, he said each franchise needed to look for the future and hence Pandya was the right pick as the new MI captain. 

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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