Mumbai Indians set a new precedent in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, with full-time skipper Rohit Sharma coming on as an impact substitute. It was Suryakumar Yadav who led the team on the field, with Rohit remaining completely absent from the first innings during MI’s bowling. However, even when Rohit came out to bat at the start of the team’s batting with Ishan Kishan, it was Surya who remained the team’s designated skipper.
At the time of toss, Suryakumar said that Rohit is out of the playing XI due to a stomach bug. Hence, it was a surprise to see him coming out to bat as an opener.
“Will love to bowl first, the wicket looks dry. The ball comes on to the bat nicely later. Rohit is out, he has a stomach bug. Time to put up a good show. We are going with one change, Duan Jansen comes in, rest all is same,” Suryakumar said at the time of the toss.
Coming on as an ‘Impact Substitute’, Rohit scored 20 runs before being dismissed by Suyash Sharma. After MI secured a 5-wicket victory in the match, chasing down the target of 186 runs in 17.4 overs, it was Surya who attended the post-match presentation ceremony as the ‘skipper’ for the match.
Why Rohit didn’t attend the presentation ceremony as skipper?
As per the ‘Impact Player’ rule set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the substitute player can bat, bowl, and field but cannot be used as the team’s skipper. Though Rohit is the designated captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise, Suraykumar would remain the captain of the team despite the fact that the Hitman came on as an ‘Impact Player’ in the second half of the game.
At the presentation ceremony, Yadav said: “We had a chat in the dugout, we just had to carry the momentum from the previous game and the boys put on a show. I would have loved to finish the game but very happy with how things went. In the afternoon, I thought the wicket was a bit dry but the way the guys batted, it settled down in the evening. At Wankhede, 180-190 is quite chaseable and Ishan took us off to a great start. (On his form) I relaxed and had an easy walk to the wicket, took my time for the first 6-7 balls. And then I thought if I get my eye in I can take it forward.”
With the victory, Mumbai have now won two matches on the bounce after losing the first two.
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