Reason For MI Free-fall? Legend's Blunt Reply: Last Minute Captaincy Change

Mumbai Indians' journey in the IPL 2024 is over. The Hardik Pandya-led side still has two matches to play but it won't be enough for them to qualify for the playoffs. From the time Pandyta replaced Rohit Sharma, who had led the side to five titles, as skipper nothing seemed to have gone right. There were boos from the fans for Pandya, while the on-field performance lacked cohesion. The result: MI are the first team to officially get knocked out of the IPL 2024. 

Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram, who has earlier been associated with Kolkata Knight Riders as a coach, said that the last-minute captaincy change played a big part. 

"Mumbai Indians must be going through a lot as a team. Last minute mein jo captain change huwa hai na Mumbai Indians ka, usse farak toh pada hai (The last-minute change in the captaincy definitely made a difference)," Wasim Akram said on Sportskeeda.

"Agar yeh pata hota na ki yeh badal rahe hai aur Rohit khud kahta ki, I just wanna play my cricket and have a rest. India ki captaani bhi chodd di hai toh phir theek hai (If it was predetermined and Rohit had said himself that he wanted to just play cricket and take rest. If he had given up the India captaincy too, then it would have been okay)," Akram explained.

He added that MI could have taken a more slow but steady approach when it came to captaincy change.

"Woh India ki kaptani bhi kar raha hai. In my opinion, iss saal Pandya ko vice-captain banate. (Rohit is also captaining India. MI should have appointed Hardik as vice-captain) Rohit kaptani karta aur agle saal Rohit kahta ab bas. I am relaxing, I want to enjoy and I am giving reigns to Pandya. Kissi ko shock nahi hota. That didn't go down well for Mumbai Indians," Akram added. "They have won the tournament five times. It must be a big letdown for them."