“I think he Rohit will replace MS Dhoni at Chennai” : Michael Vaughan makes bold IPL prediction
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has made a bold prediction on the Indian Premier League next season. He believes that Rohit Sharma will replace MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings in 2025, and take over the captaincy from Ruturaj Gaikwad.
MS Dhoni is almost certain to announce his retirement at the end of the current IPL season, given that he passed the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad even before the season began. There have been several rumors of Rohit Sharma being unhappy at Mumbai Indians after Hardik Pandya replaced him as the skipper.
Hardik Pandya has been facing the heat from fans across India due to his new role as the skipper of Mumbai Indians, which comes at the expense of Rohit Sharma. Michael Vaughan also stated that it would be interesting to see if Rohit Sharma would be booed in a similar fashion if he makes his switch to Chennai Super Kings.
“I think he (Rohit) will go to Chennai, replace MS Dhoni. Gaikwad is doing it this year. Do you think it’s just a holding job? May be Rohit next year?,” Vaughan was quoted saying to YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia in a podcast show.
“I see him in Chennai. I see him there. If he were to captain Chennai and came to Mumbai, will he get booed?” he asked.
“It’s not his fault” : Michael Vaughan on Hardik Pandya taking over the captaincy
Michael Vaughan believes that Hardik Pandya should not be blamed for hurting the sentiments of fans across India. He believes that any player in the all-rounder’s shoes would be tempted to captain Mumbai Indians if given an opportunity.
“Hardik is going through a difficult time and it’s not his fault. He has been asked to come back to the Mumbai Indians. He has been asked to be the captain. Who is going to say no that? He has just been given a job that pretty much every single cricketer in India would like to do, captain the MI,” Vaughan added.
However, Michael Vaughan stated that it would have been prudent for Mumbai Indians to stick with Rohit Sharma as the skipper for at least this season. The Indian batter is all set to lead Team India in the upcoming T20I World Cup in West Indies and USA. And as such, it makes no sense for the MI management to name Hardik Pandya as the captain ahead of him.
“I personally would have kept Rohit. Hardik coming back to Mumbai is big enough pressure in itself. Rohit, once he had a good World Cup, he is obviously going to captain India in the T20 World Cup. The sensible move would have been Rohit captaining MI and Hardik, in mind, for the next year or year after,” he added.
