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It’s been weeks since Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Mumbai Indians team. The change, which remains one of the most talked about topics in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, hasn’t just had fans but also some former cricketers baffled. Navjot Singh Sidhu, former India cricketer-turned-commentator, echoed the sentiments of thousands of Rohit Sharma fans as he asked what wrong did the Hitman do, to be removed as Mumbai’s skipper. While Rohit continues to lead the Indian national cricket team, it’s Hardik who captains his IPL franchise.

“Nobody can digest the fact that India’s hero, India’s captain, is not the captain of our franchise. ‘What wrong has he done?’ is what fans of the franchise would be thinking,” Navjot Sidhu said on Star Sports.

“But what does he have to do? There is nothing that succeeds like success. If he had won these two matches, there wouldn’t have been any noise,” he further added.

There were also rumours that Hardik would be elevated as India’s skipper, at least in the shortest format, and would lead the team in the T20 World Cup 2024. But, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit would remain India’s skipper and captain the team in the showpiece event which starts in June this year.

Sidhu feels if the announcement from the BCCI had come earlier, Mumbai Indians might not have decided to replace him with Hardik as the franchise’s captain.

“If India would have announced earlier in October that Rohit Sharma would return as the India T20I captain in 2024, then the franchise might not have taken the call. Because they would have thought that how can India captain not be the captain of the franchise,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said.

As things stand, Hardik is the captain of Mumbai Indians while Rohit continues to lead the Indian team in all three formats.