Mumbai Indians could be set for another leadership shake-up ahead of IPL 2027, with reports suggesting the franchise is considering a return to Rohit Sharma as captain after two disappointing seasons under Hardik Pandya.
Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians may bring back Rohit Sharma as captain for the upcoming 2027 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The reports surface after the franchise underwent a major coaching overhaul, with the entire staff being replaced with a new unit to break their streak of poor performance in the past two seasons.
MI have failed to produce a playoff finish in Hardik Pandya’s captaincy reign so far. The move took place ahead of IPL 2024 as part of an all-cash deal, but the team failed to reap benefits from the IPL title-winning captain’s comeback in the team.
Rohit to lead MI in IPL 2027?
According to the Indian Express, the MI team management ‘wanted Rohit to take over the team captaincy from Hardik’ midway through the series. It was previously learnt that the franchise had decided to move on from Pandya’s captaincy.
While the franchise has options such as Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and India T20 vice-captain Tilak Varma, the franchise still turned to Rohit to take over, to which he has reportedly agreed.
More from Firstcricket“Rohit initially had suggested Tilak Varma’s name, but the franchise has requested him to take over captaincy, which he has now agreed. There were series of talks that had happened before him flying to New Zealand, and Rohit’s suggestions were sought during appointment of new coaches as well,” a source said, according to the report.
Focus on Hardik’s future
With Rohit expected to take over as MI captain, the focus would be on Pandya’s future in IPL. He could stay in Mumbai or could move to another franchise, with Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders being ideal picks.
The Indian all-rounder was previously linked with other IPL sides in a trade deal, but nothing has materialised as of yet.
Mumbai Indians recently announced Kieron Pollard as its new head coach, with Robin Uthappa, Mitchell McClenaghan, T Dilip and Dhawal Kulkarni joining as support staff. Whether any captaincy change would be made is yet to be seen.