“He always kept team ahead of self”- Aakash Chopra hails Rohit Sharma as his tenure as MI captain ends

Former India batter Aakash Chopra has hailed Rohit Sharma as a leader who always put the team before self after the latter’s 10-year tenure as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end.

Releasing an official statement on Friday, December 15, Mumbai Indians confirmed all-rounder Hardik Pandya as their captain for the IPL 2024 season. Pandya was traded in from Gujarat Titans (GT) and reports were doing the rounds that he could be named the new leader of the MI franchise.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra termed the end of Rohit’s reign as Mumbai Indians captain as the end of an era.

“Rohit Sharma was one of the finest captains - 10 years, five trophies. A very successful captain. He understands the pulse of the game and managed the team really well. He always kept team ahead of self. Whether it was opening for the side or batting down the order, he did everything for Mumbai Indians that was asked of him,” Chopra said.

Under Rohit, Mumbai Indians won the IPL for the first time in 2013. Subsequently, they went on to lift the title on four more occasions in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Along with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians are the joint most successful franchise in the IPL with five trophies each.

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“Whoever has played under Rohit has said he is a very good captain” - Aakash Chopra

While analyzing Rohit’s long and successful tenure as Mumbai Indians captain, Chopra opined that the fact that players want to keep playing under him in the IPL is his greatest legacy as a leader.

“The biggest parameter [to judge a captain is], the players who have played under you, do they want to keep playing more under you. That defines you as a captain and a player. Whoever has played under Rohit has said that he is a very good captain; I want to play under him. He gives me my space. It’s an end of an era. He is one of the modern greats,” the 46-year-old elaborated.

Rohit is the all-time leading run-getter for Mumbai Indians. In 203 innings, he has scored 5314 runs at an average of 29.52 and a strike rate of 129.76 with one hundred and 35 fifties.