‘Remember going to Rohit’s room’: Kumble’s revelation on MI captain change | cricket

After finishing bottom of the table last season, the Mumbai Indians Rohit Sharma is looking to return to victory in the upcoming 2023 IPL season, which is set to start on March 31. Rohit did not fare well during the 2022 IPL, when MI finished tenth with eight points from 14 games, including four wins and ten losses. MI won their first IPL title in 2013 and that was the season Rohit took over as their captain mid-campaign.

The daring opener took the competition by storm, leading MI to their first-ever IPL title and has led them to four other trophies. At the 2013 IPL, Anil Kumble took on the role of lead mentor for MI and the franchise was acquired by Ricky Ponting at auction, who was then used as skipper. But the former Aussie player saw a dip in batting form and was eventually dropped from the playing XI, with Rohit taking the lead.

Also Read | ‘MS Dhoni had a style…’: Jadeja predicts how Hardik Pandya’s captaincy could ‘bring back interest in ODI cricket’.

Speaking on JioCinema, Kumble said: “Mumbai Indians didn’t start well in 2013, it was very similar to how RCB started in 2009 where I think we only won one of the first five games. Ricky Ponting was the captain and “We had to change the captain because only four foreign players can play. We had to replace Ricky and then bring in Rohit Sharma. I think John Wright needs to get a lot of credit for the way he’s managed as a coach led. Yes, it was my job.” Assembling a really strong support team and building an ecosystem and foundation for the franchise when we chose Ricky Ponting at the auction.”

“The whole intention of picking him, even though he was at the end of his career, was to get someone who was there and did that. He had won World Cups as a captain in a champions team. So that’s what we wanted.” Approach.

“Unfortunately, his batting form didn’t support it and the team lost four out of five or six games. We had to make the decision to put an overseas player in the starting XI and then choose a different captain. At this point John Wright, myself and the owners had the conversation. I remember walking into Rohit Sharma’s room with John Wright. He said, “Rohit, are you keen to take on the captaincy?” He didn’t hesitate, he said, “Yes, I’m ready.” I think you want to see that kind of confidence, you want to see that kind of confidence in the player , who says I’m ready to take over. Although we had some big names on the team. Ricky Ponting”, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbbhajan Singh, Pollard, Malinga. We had some really experienced players in the group and Rohit said I’m ready. He led the team calmly, calmly and very confidently what he wanted on the spot he took all the right calls,” he added.

Mentioning everything was aligned for Rohit, who also had older players, Kumble said: “Luckily, as I mentioned, if you have to win, everything has to be aligned. Things came together and the Mumbai Indians won the championship back.”

During IPL 2023, MI will open its campaign against RCB in a blockbuster bout on April 2 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Rohit and co are looking to start with a win but will be without crucial pacesetter Jasprit Bumrah, who is ruled out for the season.