"Obvious Choice For This Year": R Ashwin Makes Bold Mumbai Indians Captaincy Pick

Ravichandran Ashwin has tipped Rohit Sharma to replace Hardik Pandya as MI captain© AFP

Legendary India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has backed former teammate Rohit Sharma to once again take over as captain of Mumbai Indians (MI) for the 2027 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. After finishing ninth in a tumultuous IPL 2026 campaign, it is widely expected that MI will not continue with Hardik Pandya as captain. Following the news of the franchise appointing Kieron Pollard as the team's head coach for 2027, Ashwin feels that Rohit is the frontrunner to become skipper again.

Ashwin stated that Mumbai Indians have a lot of issues to fix, and that Rohit has the necessary experience to be able to do so.

"This team needs a leader who has the respect of the dressing room. This is the last year before the mega auction. They also need to fix a lot of things. Who has the experience to fix these things in this short time? It is Rohit," said Ashwin, speaking on his Hindi YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.

"I think it is an obvious choice, at least for this year. He is a frontrunner for me. He also has a good bond with Pollard," he added.

The former India spinner, who primarily played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) during his IPL career, ruled out any possibility of Suryakumar Yadav or Jasprit Bumrah becoming MI's captain.

He also strongly suggested that Hardik is unlikely to remain captain, given the uncertainty over his future at the franchise.

"I think the chances of Hardik Pandya staying there are low, and therefore the chances of him being captain is even lower," Ashwin stated.

"I'd rule out... I don't think Jasprit Bumrah will be the captain, as he has physical issues. Suryakumar Yadav is no longer in the Indian team, he's not in Mumbai's Ranji team, I don't see him captaining the Mumbai side."

Tilak Varma has also emerged as a strong candidate to become MI's new captain, having recently also occupied the position of vice-captain in India's T20I team.

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