The Mumbai Indians coach claims they wanted Rohit to enjoy his batting, which is why the captaincy was removed from his shoulders.
Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher has revealed why the organization decided to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya for the upcoming IPL season. “I believe that was strictly a cricketing choice. We observed the window for Hardik’s return as a player. For me, it’s a transitional period. Many people do not understand that in India, people become highly emotional. However, you know how to remove the emotions from it. I believe it is just a cricketing decision that will bring out the best in Rohit as a person and a player. Mark Boucher says on Smash: “Just let him go out and enjoy himself and score some good runs.”
“I mean, one of the things I’ve mentioned is that when you get at the IPL, he (Chris Morris) will be able to tell you that there’s a lot going on, there’s photoshoots and this and that, and a lot of the focus isn’t actually on the cricket. “It’s more about the advertising,” adds Boucher.
Boucher emphasized that Rohit was suffering as a result of his captaincy.
“And I just thought you know, when we were talking with the entire Mumbai Indians team, we thought maybe this is an opportunity for him to step up as a player. We believe he has some fantastic worth to give and should go out there and enjoy himself without the pressure of being a captain. He will still captain India, so the buzz will be there, but when he enters the IPL, perhaps taking some of the burden off him as captain would allow us to see the best out of Rohit Sharma.
