Mumbai Indians (MI) paid rich tribute to their captain Rohit Sharma on the 10 years of his leadership of the franchise and will give a special honor to the 'hitman' during the team's next match against Rajasthan Royals, set to be played on 30 April, Sunday.
Rohit joined the MI franchise in 2011 after starting his IPL career with Deccan Chargers in 2008 and winning the IPL in 2009.
After spending two seasons as vice-captain, he was handed the captaincy reigns mid-way into the IPL 2013 tournament when Ricky Ponting stepped down as the team was faltering. Rohit then captained the side to their maiden IPL title win that season.
Since then, Rohit Sharma has captained MI to five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. MI became only the second team after Chennai Super Kings (2010 and 2011) to win the IPL titles back-to-back.
Mumbai Indians announced the development on Saturday via their social media channels stating that the game will be dedicated the Rajasthan Royals game to Sharma.
Sharma captained his first match for MI on Sachin Tendulkar's birthday, an important day for the Mumbai side. Sharma came up trumps and defeated defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on the day, marking a new era.
“It was tough when we changed our captain. It was not easy to come in suddenly to do the job. But I have really enjoyed this role since the moment Ricky stepped down and I was handed the captaincy. I knew the responsibility would fall on my shoulders since I was vice-captain for two years,” Rohit had told the Indian Premier League website after the final in 2013.
