Former Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu who earlier played for Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings batting at the middle order, wants Rohit Sharma to play for CSK in IPL 2025. Before the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League, the 38-year-old cricketer expressed his desire to see the present Indian skipper in the yellow jersey.
Rohit Sharma will not be the skipper of Mumbai Indians inIPL 2024. Earlier, the 5-time defending champions sacked his captaincy and appointed Hardik Pandya as the new captain.
Ahead of the auction, Hardik Pandya’s historic trade deal from Gujarat Titans for a price of INR 15 crores, was a part of the Mumbai Indians plan. Mainly, it was for the preparation of the transition period in captaincy. As a result, Rohit Sharma will continue to play for Mumbai Indians in the upcoming season just as a key player.
The franchise’s decision to replace Rohit Sharma left fans furious. He was the main reason behind Mumbai Indians success in the IPL. Indeed, Rohit Sharma emerged as the most successful captain in IPL history.
The complete focus will be on how Rohit Sharma will adjust himself under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. At the same time, Hardik Pandya would experience a huge pressure. He aims to repeat his leadership skills similar to what he has achieved as Gujarat Titans captain for two seasons.
Not only Ambati Rayudu but also many cricket fans prefer Rohit Sharma to play for CSK in IPL 2025. Also, it remains uncertain if IPL 2024 is MS Dhoni’s last season as Chennai Super Kings captain or the next.
Why do you believe Ambati Rayudu wants Rohit Sharma to play for CSK?
During a recent interview with News 24 Sports, Ambati Rayudu voices his wish for Rohit Sharma to play for CSK:
“The whole world is available for him. Rohit Sharma can play for the next 5–6 years if he desires to continue as the captain.
I expect Rohit Sharma to play for CSK soon. If MSD retires after IPL 2024, Rohit Sharma can lead the Yellow Army. But, it is upto him as he has the right to take the call”
Furthermore, Ambati Rayudu highlights the stress Hardik Pandya has to undergo due to the dissimilar setups of both Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians:
“Gujarat Titans had a distinguishable set of players. I think it would be the hardest part for him as a captain. It is not easy to lead Mumbai Indians as there are many star players in the team. There will be so much pressure which everyone cannot handle. My personal opinion is that Mumbai Indians rushed by taking this decision. But they might probably know what is best for the team.
However, I feel Rohit Sharma should have continued with his captaincy in IPL 2024. Moreover, the franchise should have assigned the responsibility to Hardik Pandya in the next season. At least, Hardik Pandya could have played under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy for a year. Also, Rohit Sharma is still the Indian captain even for the T20Is.”
From the above statement, Ambati Rayudu feels that Rohit Sharma should have remained as the Mumbai Indians captain. ;
Why fans want Rohit Sharma to play for CSK: Overall Facts
Fans feel that Rohit Sharma could become the successor of MS Dhoni as CSK captain. It is because both Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni as successful captains have jointly won the IPL trophy 5 times.
Especially, Mumbai Indians were the defending champions in the years 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 during Rohit Sharma’s 10-year captaincy tenure.
After Hardik Pandya took over the captaincy, a majority of cricket fans wished Rohit Sharma to play for CSK as the opening batsman and captain if MS Dhoni plans his retirement in the next season.
Also, Rohit Sharma is the 4th highest run scorer in IPL, achieving 6,211 runs in 243 matches. Out of the 238 innings, Rohit scored a century and 42 half-centuries.
On the other side, Rohit Sharma will be focussing on his batting skills. He is gearing up to lead Team India for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Recently, the Indian cricket team achieved a 4-1 victory in the 5-match test series against England under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. Also, he led his team to a 3-0 win in the T20I series against Afghanistan in January 2024, despite a 14-month-long gap in the shortest format of the game.
Ahead of the England test series, BCCI secretary gave a strong statement that Team India will clinch the T20 World Cup 2024 Trophy under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. It proves that Rohit Sharma still has a huge demand among fans, senior cricketers and BCCI higher authorities for his leadership skills. Mumbai Indians will compete in their first match of IPL 2024 against Gujarat Titans on 24th March (Sunday). Finally, it remains a question mark on how Mumbai Indians will perform under a new captain after 10 years