Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) sprang a surprise ahead of the 2024 season by appointing Hardik Pandya as their new captain. The all-rounder is succeeding Rohit Sharma, who led MI to five IPL titles in his 11-year stint as skipper.

This move was particularly hard to digest for Rohit’s ardent fanbase, some of whom vented out their anger by booing Hardik as he led MI in the initial matches of this IPL season.

On Thursday (May 2), Rohit himself reflected on the tumultuous past few months, saying that 'not everything will go your way'.

"See, it is part of life. Not everything will go your way. It has been a great experience," Rohit said during a media interaction.

The decision of MI management to remove Rohit Sharma as captain was questioned by many cricket pundits, given his credentials as skipper over the years.

When asked about his experience of playing under Hardik’s leadership, Rohit said it is no different from playing under any other captain.

"Before (also), I have not been captain and I have played under a lot of captains. It is no different or new to me," replied Rohit, who has played under MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli for India apart from being led by Adam Gilchrist, Harbhajan Singh and Ricky Ponting in the Indian Premier League.

With no burden of captaincy on his shoulder, Rohit Sharma’s batting form in the IPL has seen a remarkable turnaround.

"Whatever is there and you go by it and then try and do what is required from you as a player. I have only tried to do that in the last one month or so," he stated.

In the ongoing IPL, Rohit Sharma has played 10 innings so far, amassing 315 runs at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 158.29, including one hundred.

(With PTI Inputs)