The decision by Mumbai Indians to bring back the prodigal son in the form of Hardik Pandya and appoint him as the Mumbai Indians captain has not gone down well with cricket fans and former cricketers. Especially as Pandya’s appointment came in place of Rohit Sharma, a 5-time IPL-winning captain and a legend in his own right. Much has been said and done since then, but now former Indian cricketer and politician Navjot Singh Siddhu has also reacted to the controversy in his own style, saying that a player of Rohit Sharma’s stature does not diminish while playing under Pandya’s captaincy.
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Speaking to Star Sports, Sidhu said, “I have played in an Indian team where five captains used to pay together. Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Ravi Shastri. Pick up a brick and you will find a captain both above and below it. There were no issues because they were playing for their nation. The motivation was to play for your country. So, playing under Hardik does not make Rohit smaller.”
“MS Dhoni has also given his captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. The Mumbai franchise could also have made Pandya the captain like Ruturaj Gaikwad but no, the franchise saw that Rohit could not get the team any IPL title in three years, he made Pandya the captain. He also said that one has to work hard to become a player like Rohit,”
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Notably, Sidhu is returning to IPL commentary after almost a decade and his unique style or ‘Sidhuism’ has been a major reason for his huge success as a commentator. A prominent face behind the microphone, his commentary stint has also made him a well-known personality in the entertainment world, where he has been paid handsomely to appear on a comedy show.
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Published: 27 Mar 2024, 12:42 PM IST