The Mumbai Indians’ decision to keep former captain Rohit Sharma off the pitch for the second half of the must-win Qualifier 2 against the Punjab Kings has sparked heated controversy. PBKS, led by Shreyas Iyer, scored 204 with an over to spare, becoming the first side in 18 IPL seasons to successfully chase a 200-plus total against Mumbai Indians.

Rohit, one of IPL history’s most successful captains with five titles, has been deployed as an Impact Player this season, starting the batting but rarely fielding. Rohit did not play in the second innings against PBKS either, as pacer Ashwani Kumar was substituted. While his presence on the pitch may not have affected the outcome on its own, his absence may have provided Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya with further guidance, which may have benefited them.

During PBKS’ innings, Hardik Pandya supported the young Ashwani, who bowled beautifully in the Eliminator against the Gujarat Titans.

However, as Iyer and Nehal Wadhera began to make a stand, crucial bowling selections had to be taken. Hardik had the option of bowling himself or relying on Mitchell Santner, who had two overs remaining and had only scored 15 runs in his first two. Instead, he went with Ashwani in the 19th over, costing 24 runs and eliminating MI from the contention.

Had Rohit been on the pitch, he could have influenced several decisions. The Nagpur native could have advised Hardik to hold Ashwani back or rotate Bumrah differently. His experience, particularly in playoff games, may have been invaluable to the club.

Rohit also has an impressive playoff captaincy record. In 15 postseason games as captain, he has 11 wins. Hardik, on the other hand, was traded from the Gujarat Titans after leading them to a title in 2022 and a final appearance in 2023. The all-rounder has captained seven postseason games, winning four.

Meanwhile, MI were clinical with the bat earlier, with Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Naman Dhir all helping to the post-203/6. Despite their bowlers’ poor performance on the pitch and Iyer’s prowess with the bat, PBKS secured their last spot.