Rohit Sharma likely to return as Mumbai Indians captain, announcement expected Nov 16-18

There is considerable buzz around the Mumbai Indians captaincy ahead of IPL 2027. Rohit Sharma may once again take charge of the team. His return as captain in next year's IPL is being seen as almost certain, though there has been no official announcement yet.

Under Rohit, Mumbai Indians performed superbly in the IPL and became champions five times. But he had to give up the captaincy in 2024 after Hardik Pandya arrived. Hardik captained Mumbai for three consecutive seasons, from 2024 to 2026. During this period the team's performance was very poor, it suffered several heavy defeats and failed to qualify. The team also went through major upheaval.

It is being said that Hardik Pandya may leave Mumbai and join another franchise. There is talk that he could move to Punjab Kings in a trade deal involving Arshdeep Singh. This raises the question of who will captain Mumbai next. According to the report, the team may make Rohit Sharma the new captain for the next IPL season, and the franchise may officially announce this between November 16 and 18.

Several veteran cricketers have already said that Rohit should captain Mumbai on the strength of his experience. In these circumstances, the franchise may give him the responsibility.

Meanwhile, as the talk of Hardik's trade continued, big changes were also made in the Mumbai team. The team has not won a trophy in six years, so the franchise is looking for a fresh start. Head coach Mahela Jayawardene resigned on October 17. West Indies great Kieron Pollard has since been made head coach. Pollard has been working with Mumbai for many years.

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has also been appointed batting coach. Mitchell McClenaghan will be the bowling coach, while Dhawal Kulkarni has been named development bowling coach. T. Dilip will be the fielding coach. As soon as Pollard became the new head, talk began that Rohit could be the new captain. The picture is expected to become clear in the next few days.