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Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season ended in disappointment as they finished last in the standings. The team managed only four victories throughout the season, marking one of their worst performances in IPL history. The season’s conclusion came after a loss to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), leaving fans and analysts questioning the future of key players and management decisions.
Rohit Sharma’s performance and captaincy change
Rohit Sharma, the former MI skipper and current all-format captain for India, faced a tumultuous season. Earlier this year, the MI management decided to replace him with Hardik Pandya as captain, hoping to inject new energy and direction into the team. Unfortunately, this move backfired significantly, as the team ended up at the bottom of the table, securing only four wins.
Despite the team’s poor performance, Rohit emerged as MI’s top scorer. He accumulated 417 runs in 14 games, including a century and a half-century. His final match of the season showcased the erratic nature of T20 cricket, where he scored 68 runs off 38 balls after going through a mid-season slump. This performance highlighted his ability to bounce back, even in challenging circumstances.
Also READ: IPL 2024: KL Rahul’s cheeky ‘Sharma ji ka beta’ remark for Rohit Sharma leaves everyone in splits
Discussions about Rohit’s future & Mark Boucher’s perspective
Following the team’s dismal season, there have been widespread debates about Rohit’s future with the MI. Speculation about his role in the franchise and his participation in future IPL seasons has been rife. Mark Boucher, the head coach of MI, addressed these concerns in a recent press conference. Boucher expressed confidence in Rohit’s abilities and future with the team. He mentioned that he had a long conversation with Rohit and described him as the “master of his own destiny,”
“To be honest, there hasn’t been many conversations about Rohit’s future. I spoke to him last night or the night before, just to do basically a little review of the season. And I said, ‘What’s next for Rohit Sharma?’ and he said to me ‘World Cup.’ And that’s perfect. That’s all I need to know about what Rohit Sharma’s future is. For me, he is the master of his own destiny. It’s a big auction next season, who knows what’s going to happen? We’ll just have to take each day as it comes,” Boucher was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
Boucher, having worked closely with Rohit for two seasons, believed that the star batter has the resilience and skill to remain a key player for MI. Boucher emphasized Rohit’s continued adaptability and his evolution as an aggressive opener, a role that has seen him achieve significant success over the years. He noted that despite the challenging season, Rohit adapted to the new playing style and continued to contribute significantly to the team’s efforts.
“It’s almost a season of two halves for him. He started the season well and hit the ball sweetly in the nets. He got a superb 100 against CSK as well. So we honestly thought he was on a great path for us to go out there and get some good runs,” the 47-year-old concluded.
