Rohit Sharma led MI to IPL victory in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020
Rohit Sharma may be the most successful IPL captain with five trophies, but the manner in which it all started was far from conventional. Sharma was appointed the captain of Mumbai in 2013 in the middle of the season.
With Ricky Ponting struggling with the bat, he decided to drop himself from the side. Despite a senior player, Harbhajan Singh, being in the team, Ponting’s forward-looking approach was on show when he handed the captaincy to youngster Rohit Sharma.
Rohit joined India teammate RavichandranAshwin during a live session on Instagram during the lockdown. He explained why Ricky Ponting stepped down as captain mid-way through the tournament and handed over the reins to him.
The current MI skipper also recalled the time when he got to share the dressing room with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting for the Mumbai Indians in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Sharma kissing the IPL trophy
Sharma’s statement
“In 2013, we got Ricky Ponting in the auction. In 2012, Sachin (Tendulkar) said he would not lead Mumbai, and Harbhajan Singh was made the skipper. But in 2013, I don’t know why Bhajjupaa wasn’t made the captain. And I thought I would be made the captain but then Ponting was bought in the auction.”
Sharma also shed light on Ponting’s approach and how he ensured that the side gelled well.
“Ponting was the first one to arrive in India for the 2013 season. He wanted to understand everyone. He said that he wanted to have a team bonding session first. In a way, it made a very positive impact on everyone. Ponting really motivated the younger guys,” he added.
Rohit explained that despite Ponting stepping down as captain, he was very active behind the scenes and played the role of player-cum-coach during the 2013 season.
“He was not scoring runs, so he decided to step down as the captain. Eventually, Ponting called me, and I was given the captaincy. He actually was player-cum-coach during the 2013 season. He was always there to help me,” the stylish batsman said.
It turned out to be a masterstroke for Mumbai, which reversed its fortunes and won the title the same year. Sharma has been an integral part of the franchise ever since and has won them many games.
Sharma’s stats and achievements for MI
Recently, Rohit Sharma achieved a major milestone when he appeared for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He became the third IPL player to appear in 200 games for a single IPL franchise after MS Dhoni (CSK) and Virat Kohli (RCB). In 200 matches, Sharma has scored 5,110 matches for Mumbai Indians. After from leading the team to five IPL trophies, he also won one Champions League T20 title in 2013. He is the only Mumbai Indians player to represent the franchise in 14 IPL editions and also the only MI player to have scored over 5,000 IPL runs.
Sharma playing a shot against SRH
Unfortunately, in December 2023, Rohit Sharma was removed from the captaincy of Mumbai Indians and the role was handed over to Hardik Pandya.
