3 Players who can replace Rohit Sharma as MI captain

One of the most successful leaders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rohit Sharma has been a pivotal force for the Mumbai Indians (MI) since 2011. In his debut season as a captain in 2013, MI lifted their maiden IPL title, and have a total of five titles under their belt to date. However, the ongoing season has been a disappointing one for the team, where they have lost eight consecutive matches, and are still winless.

Rohit’s returns with the bat have been diminishing this season and have only 153 runs in eight innings at an average of 19.13. In 2022, he has also been asked to lead the Indian team across all formats of the game. In the last two bilateral series against Sri Lanka and West Indies, India has convincingly secured victories.

Although Rohit has been doing well as a leader for India, he has failed to use the role as a boost to improve his performance with the bat. Additionally, the failure of MI in IPL 2022 might force him to give up the captaincy in the tournament and concentrate on the India stint.

3 Players who can replace Rohit Sharma as MI captain:

1. Jasprit Bumrah

The fast bowler from Gujarat, Jasprit Bumrah made his MI debut in 2013. But it was 2016, which helped him to gain attention from the cricket fraternity. His India debut was successful with him picking multiple wickets in the ODI as well as T2OI against Australia. In the same edition of IPL, he scalped 15 wickets in 14 appearances at an economy of 7.80.

Since then, Bumrah has been a consistent wicket-taker in crunch moments for the team in the powerplay as well as death overs. His best performance in the tournament came in 2020 when he scalped 27 wickets in 15 matches at an economy of 6.73, which helped MI to win their fifth title.

In 2022, Bumrah served as a vice-captain for the Indian team in the South Africa ODI series. This role was given to him by the selectors due to his experience and to groom him as a leader for the future. In the same way, Bumrah can be given an opportunity with the MI team in the subsequent season as well.