Why did Mumbai Indians ruthlessly swap Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya and why does Chennai Super Kings still stick to Thala Dhoni? | Cricket News
Mumbai Indians have been busy of late. In June, their top management told Rohit Sharma that they were looking beyond him. November was when the Gujarat Titans IPL-winning skipper Hardik Pandya returned to his old franchise and in December, replaced Rohit as MI captain. Around these time-consuming events involving intense negotiations, there have been rumours, denials, heartbreaks, intrigue and a trail of rhetorical questions.
With Rohit leading from the front during India’s exceptional World Cup campaign, how can MI even think of a leadership change? How on earth could Gujarat Titans let India’s future captain and priceless brand Hardik leave without any fuss? Why can’t MI-Rohit and GT-Hardik be like the long-lasting and highly-successful Chennai Super Kings-MS Dhoni partnership?
Conventional cricketing wisdom has horically failed to explain IPL decisions. The world of franchise T20 cricket, where balance sheets and score sheets are given equal weightage, is ruled a different set of rules. Auctions and retention considerations dictate important decisions. Branding and valuation are factors in sackings and signings.
Mumbai Indians fans during an IPL game
Since the fans and players are in a constant state of toggle between these two contrasting worlds – one eye on Team India, the other on IPL – they often confuse one for the other. Talking to insiders from the franchise, BCCI officials and neutrals gave some idea about the rationale behind the unpopular decisions that have triggered outrage and confusion among both fans and players.
Why did Mumbai get Hardik Pandya?
It is learnt that the one big factor that forced MI to take the difficult leadership call was the IPL’s unique retention rule. 2024 happens to be the last season before the mega auction that takes place every three years. 2025 will be the year of the big churn, it will be the time when teams will l four players they would wish to stick till 2028.
After winning their fifth IPL title in 2020, MI has witnessed a slide. In the next three years, they would finish 5th, 10th and 4th on the table. Retaining Rohit, 36, for the next three years in 2025 was a risky proposition. It would be a punt and a gigantic leap of faith.
Rohit isn’t finished as a T20 cricketer. He still can be a batting asset and also part of the team’s brain trust. When relay runners exchange a baton, the ‘givers’ run with the ‘receiver’ for a few metres before he lets it go. MI too would want Rohit to have a light grip on the baton so that it doesn’t fall.
MI’s owners are known for their clinical corporate culture, they always have a succession plan in place. MI and Hardik go back a long way. Hardik, at 30, was ripe to be plucked. Signing him now and retaining him next year would mean Hardik could potentially give his best cricketing years to MI. Rohit too had done the same. He had joined MI when he was 24. Rising from the ranks, he was captain at 26 and won the franchise five IPL titles.
Hardik Pandya played a key role in Mumbai Indians’ four triumphs in the IPL between 2015 to 2021. (PHOTO: MI)
But was it wise to have long-term plans with Hardik, a player with chronic injury issues? Those in the know say that MI have audited his fitness, plus they have the experience of managing injury-prone Jasprit Bumrah and have got the best out of him.
MI might have a strong argument to replace Rohit the captain but fate’s intervention ensured that the timing was far from ideal. When Mumbai was in talks with Gujarat, Team India was in the middle of its majestic World Cup run, Hardik was out of the team and Rohit was being seen as a selfless leader with a winning touch.
There were other complications. Coincidentally, when MI named Hardik skipper, BCCI was in the middle of a captaincy debate for the T20 World Cup.
MI’s endorsement of Hardik was bad optics for Rohit. He felt hard done . Rohit was not the only one to be disappointed. The other two captaincy candidates in the MI squad – Surya Kumar Yadav and Bumrah – too expressed their anguish on social media when Hardik returned to the MI fold. Surya and Bumrah have led India, they too have ambitions.
But couldn’t Rohit, Surya and Bumrah move out, just like Hardik did? All three could have got record-breaking deals from other franchises. There have been reports of Delhi Capitals sending Rohit feelers. The team yet to win an IPL title was ready to bend backwards and empty its coffers. Those in the know say Rohit didn’t budge. As for Surya and Bumrah, there weren’t any rumours about them considering other offers.
So why do players make peace with their angst and continue with MI?
On the IPL circuit, players openly talk about playing for MI, arguably the most influential franchise in Indian cricket. MI’s exceptional record of grooming several India players has convinced the world that the path to the national team passes through Mumbai.
Owned India’s leading business conglomerate Reliance, MI has a work force and resources that no team can match. Treatment at their ultra-modern hospital in Mumbai, all-year access to modern infrastructure, and foreign exposure trips are part of the MI package. For the Covid-years IPL, MI flew families and put them at team hotels. At MI, as the Hardik case showed, you can check out but never leave.
Why did Gujarat Titans let Hardik go?
The Ahmedabad franchise is very different from MI. The two have different cultures and goals. Back in 2021, CVC Capital paid Rs 5625 crore to be part of the IPL. While MI is a franchise run a business family, CVC is an investment firm with 40 managing partners and a global network of 29 local offices. On its website, Gujarat Titans is led under its very impressive diverse portfolio section.
selling Hardik, GT’s purse went up Rs 15 crore and they also got a transfer fee that only IPL will know. Speculation runs rife about the amount, with some quoting an outlandish figure of Rs 100 crore.
The earnings from the Hardik trade will reflect on the CV Capitals balance sheet at the end of the financial year and this is expected to result in a spike in its valuation. For an investment firm into buying and selling, this was as important as winning an IPL title. In years to come, if the fund manager owning GT plans to sell its stake, partly or fully, such trades would help them get a good deal.
😍 From a dreamy eyed fanboy of the IPL to a captain of the Gujarat Titans! Aapdo Shubman is raring to own his latest designation! Hear his first words from a brand new chapter… 💙#TitansFAM, ready for a new era of leadership? 💙#AavaDe pic.twitter.com/vmIN7I4LQY
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) November 29, 2023
Shubman Gill, India’s Next Big Star, is Hardik’s replacement as GT captain. Another asset is taking shape in Ahmedabad. In days to come, another trade with a jumbo transfer fee can’t be ruled out.
Several football clubs around the world run on the economics of selling their players. Over the last decade, Benfica and Atletico Madrid made close to 955 million Euros (Rs 8,723 crore) through trade of their stars. MI might be into building legacy and would never think of selling stake, but GT’s plan would be different.
Is it wise for CSK to stick to Dhoni as captain?
While Mumbai have had Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Harbhajan Singh as captains, CSK have stuck to Dhoni. Immune to cricket’s corporatisation, CSK hasn’t quite moved with the times. The team’s original owner and BCCI’s veteran adminrator, N Srinivasan has run multiple teams in Chennai’s local leagues. He has been around to know that supporting cricket needs a philanthrop’s mindset; it’s not an investment that gives regular annual dividends.
CSK made a half-hearted attempt to find Dhoni’s successor but the Ravindra Jadeja experiment didn’t last long. But it needed a Dhoni for the CSK model to work. Not many can win an IPL title at 42 and, that too, with a modest batting average and a dodgy knee. Mumbai might have replaced him long back, Gujarat might have traded him, but conservative Chennai loyally stuck to him. Though, now they seem worried about finding someone who can replace their larger than life Thala.
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