"This should happen" - Fans react as Subramaniam Badrinath shares Rohit Sharma’s picture in CSK jersey

Hardik Pandya on Friday, December 15, replaced Rohit Sharma as the new Mumbai Indians (MI) captain for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The change in leadership came a decade after Rohit was appointed as skipper of the Mumbai-based franchise.

For the unversed, Rohit guided MI to 87 wins in 158 matches at a win percentage of 55.06. The 36-year-old led MI to unscalable heights with five IPL trophies and one Champions League title. Only Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have won as many IPL titles.

A day later, former India and CSK cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath shared a picture on X (formerly Twitter) of Rohit in a Super Kings jersey and captioned it:

“What if?”

Subramaniam Badrinath's post on X ft. Rohit Sharma.

Notably, MS Dhoni-led CSK are also referred to as the dad’s army for having a majority of their players in their 30s.

Fans on X had mixed responses to Badrinath’s post:

X users reacted to Rohit Sharma's picture in a CSK jersey.

Other than MI, Rohit has played for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, who won the IPL title under Adam Gilchrist in 2009. He played for the Hyderabad-based franchise from 2008 to 2010 before moving to MI in 2011.

---

“It is part of legacy building” – Mahela Jayawardena on Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as MI skipper

Mumbai Indians Global Head of Performance Mahela Jayawardena opened up on the transition of captaincy as Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma. In a statement, he said:

“It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future."

Jayawardena added:

"It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season.”

As skipper, Pandya led Gujarat Titans to a maiden IPL trophy in their inaugural season (2022). Under his leadership, GT also reached the IPL 2023 final but lost to CSK.