The Wankhede Stadium is set to light up as Mumbai Indians take on the Rajasthan Royals, but it's not just any other match for the Men in Blue and Gold. April 24, 2023 marked the ten-year anniversary of Rohit Sharma's captaincy with the Mumbai Indians, and what a journey it has been!
When Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy in the middle of the season in 2013, he was young and inexperienced. But, in the years since then, he has grown into an outstanding leader, who has taken his team to five IPL titles. And as the team and coaching staff looked back on Rohit's journey, it's clear that he has been the driving force behind Mumbai Indians' legacy.
Kieron Pollard, the team's batting coach, remembers Rohit's early days as captain, saying, "He's grown as a leader. I mean, he's grown into leadership. Obviously, it was entrusted onto him in 2013 in the middle of a season. He was still pretty young at that point in time." But despite his youth, Rohit quickly proved himself to be a quick learner and a natural leader. "That shows you that a person has a great acumen of what he can accomplish, and we are lucky to have him as a leader," Pollard added.
Bowling coach Shane Bond highlighted the impact that Rohit has had on and off the field. "He's such a big personality around our group, and particularly in leading this team to where we are now, he has done a brilliant job."
Suryakumar Yadav praised Rohit's impressive statistics, saying, "Winning five trophies under his captaincy... it's a story in itself. He's brought so much glory for the franchise."
And the players agree that Rohit's way of dealing with youngsters and conducting himself in a team environment make him a great leader. Fielding coach James Pamment said, "A great strength of his is that he encourages the young Indian players very well. Captains just know how to pull the strings, and that's one of the things Rohit has done extremely well."
Rohit Sharma has been the heartbeat of the Mumbai Indians for a decade now, and as they take on the Rajasthan Royals, they will be looking to their captain to lead them to another victory. With such an incredible journey behind him and many more triumphs to come, there's no doubt that Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest captains in IPL history!