MI captain list: Who did Rohit Sharma replace as Mumbai Indians captain in IPL?

Dixit Bhargav | 28/03/2023
MI captain list: Who did Rohit Sharma replace as Mumbai Indians captain in IPL?

Second on the list of most Indian Premier League matches as captain, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has, by no means, won the highest number of matches as an IPL captain. Having said that, it would still be safe to term him the most successful captain in the history of the biggest T20 league around the world on the back of leading his team to as many as five titles.

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has led in 210 IPL matches as compared to Sharma’s 143, is next on the list with CSK winning four titles under him.

Speaking particularly about Rohit Sharma (182) and MI, the 35-year old player will surpass the legendary Kieron Pollard (189) in the list of most matches played for Mumbai in the forthcoming 16th season of the IPL. Considering how the franchise had never won an IPL title before Sharma was handed over the reigns midway through IPL 2013, Sharma has unequivocally been the most crucial player in Indians’ history.

Who did Rohit Sharma replace as Mumbai Indians captain in IPL?

Having joined MI in IPL 2011 after spending the first three IPL seasons at Deccan Chargers, Sharma first led them in 2013 after former Australia captain Ricky Ponting stepped down from the leadership role in the middle of the season after leading the team to three wins and as many losses.

First cricketer to lead Indians in 2008, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh had relinquished captaincy after leading them to IPL 2012 Eliminator. With Mumbai buying Ponting for INR 2.12 crore in IPL 2013 auction, he was named Singh’s successor and their fifth captain in spite of speculations that Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar would return as captain but the move didn’t last long.

“I was at Mumbai Indians when Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy there. I was bought in the auction to be their captain and unfortunately, I wasn’t playing well enough after the first few games to keep myself in the team. So, I had to make room for another international player to come into the side,” Ponting had told ICC last year regarding suggesting Sharma’s name for captaincy to the team management back in the day.

Although it was Singh who had led Mumbai to their first-ever title in Champions League Twenty20 2011, Sharma had led them to their first IPL title in his inaugural season as captain. It was in the same year that Indians became only the first team to lift the CLT20 trophy for the second time.

The rest, as they say, is history as Sharma continues to lead the franchise for over a decade now. IPL 2023 will be the 11th consecutive year when the current Indian captain will be leading MI.

MI captain list

S. No. Player Span Matches Won Lost
1 Harbhajan Singh 2008-2012 20 10 10
2 Shaun Pollock 2008 4 3 1
3 Sachin Tendulkar 2008-2011 51 30 21
4 Dwayne Bravo 2010 1 0 1
5 Ricky Ponting 2013 6 3 3
6 Rohit Sharma 2013-present 143 79 60
7 Kieron Pollard 2019-2021 6 4 2
Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
Indian Premier League MI Mumbai Indians Rohit Sharma

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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