How Ponting's sacrifice led to Rohit's rise as MI skipper?
What's the story
While Rohit Sharma tasted tremendous success as Mumbai Indians skipper in the Indian Premier League, his appointment in the role was more by default than by design. He took over from the legendary Ricky Ponting midway through the 2013 season. The latter had stepped down after leading MI in six matches that year and even dropped himself from the XI. Here are key details of the entire saga.
Details
Ponting's withdrawl and Rohit's rise
Under Ponting, MI won just three of their first six matches in the season.
He could manage just 52 runs in these games at a paltry strike rate of 69.33.
To accommodate overseas players like Dwayne Smith and Mitchell Johnson in the XI, captain Ponting voluntarily decided to drop himself from the XI.
Rohit subsequently got the role ahead of Indian legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, who had led the franchise before.
Leadership qualities
Kumble on how Rohit accepted the captaincy
A couple of years back, Anil Kumble, the then mentor of MI, recalled the moment when he and John Wright (MI's then head coach) approached Rohit in Kolkata ahead of a match against KKR.
"What was very evident when John Wright and I walked into his room in Kolkata, we were playing KKR, he was extremely confident," he said.
The former India captain emphasized that there was no hesitation from Rohit when they asked him if he was ready to captain the team despite all these big names being a part of it.
Run
Rohit led MI from the front
Rohit did a sensational job in MI's rise as the team finished second in the points table with 11 wins from 16 games.
The dasher also led with the bat in these games as MI went on to lift their maiden IPL title, defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final.
Rohit finished the season with 538 runs across 19 innings at an average of 38.42 (50s: 4).
This remained the only IPL edition that saw the MI talisman hammer 500-plus runs.
Captaincy record
Rohit's record as MI skipper
Rohit became an IPL legend during his 11-year stint as MI's captain, as the team won four more titles under him after 2013.
He also won the trophy in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Three of MI's IPL wins have come by beating Chennai Super Kings in the final.
As per Cricinfo, Rohit managed MI in 158 IPL matches. He claimed 87 wins and 67 losses, besides tying four matches.
Hardik Pandya replaced him as the team skipper ahead of the 2024 season.