IPL 2019: Who will lead Mumbai Indians if Rohit Sharma misses out the game against KXIP?

The Mumbai Indians (MI) are gearing up for the clash against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Wankhede on Wednesday. But their preparations were hit by a major blow on Tuesday. The skipper Rohit Sharma appeared to have pulled his muscle while training even as the physio Nitin Patel rushed in to attend him. However, despite the treatment, Rohit limped towards the dressing room and didn’t come back to the nets as well.

Though the intensity of the injury is not known yet, there could be a possibility where the Mumbai Indians team management wouldn’t want to take a risk. Moreover, with the World Cup around the corner even as the squad set to be announced on April 15, Rohit himself would want to be more cautious. If the injury, in any case, exaggerates, it would be a big blow for India.

Having said that, if Rohit Sharma misses out in the game against the KXIP, the main question arises over the leadership of the Mumbai franchise.

Will Pollard take up the onus?

If the happenings during the ongoing season are taken into consideration, Kieron Pollard becomes the top contender to step in as the captain for Rohit Sharma. Recently, in a mid-match interview, the coach Mahela Jayawardena had said that the Caribbean veteran is the part of the leadership group. “Pollard is a natural leader. We want him to take up leadership out in the middle,” the former Sri Lankan had said.

To add to it, Pollard is also in great form unlike last year and is giving his best this time around both with the bat and on the field. It will be interesting to see if the team management approaches him to take up the challenge.

There is also an Indian candidate for the role if Rohit’s words during the IPL last year are to be believed. Ahead of the clash against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Ishan Kishan was seen giving a pep talk to his teammates. When asked about the same at the toss, Rohit had cleared that the youngster was given the extra responsibility.

“He is a great guy and speaks a lot in the dressing room. For a change we wanted him to speak in a huddle and give him more responsibility. He is a great kid,” Rohit had said. This would be a big call from the Mumbai Indians if Ishan Kishan is appointed the stand-in captain and it remains to be seen if they go with him if the need arises.

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