Former Indian batter S Badrinath wants Mumbai Indians (MI) to appoint Rohit Sharma as captain for IPL 2027. Badrinath called Rohit the best Indian captain after MS Dhoni and urged the franchise to make him captain for only the next season.
Mumbai have spent the past week rebuilding their backroom, installing Kieron Pollard as head coach and adding Robin Uthappa and T Dilip to the staff after Mahela Jayawardene’s exit.
Badrinath reads those moves as a signal about the captaincy, saying on his YouTube channel, Cric it with Badri:
“To me, he’s the best Indian captain after MS Dhoni. He also commands respect from everyone. I’ve never heard any cricketer say anything bad about Rohit. He provides a big-brother feel to the players. All their coaching moves make it feel like Rohit Sharma will become MI’s captain. But I feel it’ll only be for one year. Beyond that, you can’t make Rohit the long-term captain because it’s not certain if he’ll play after next season, considering his age and fitness.”
Rohit won the IPL in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, five titles to sit level with Dhoni as captain, and he never lost a final. He won 87 of his 158 IPL matches in charge, the second-highest victory count in the competition’s history, and then led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Badrinath calls a title in 2027 the ideal swansong for Rohit Sharma
S Badrinath believes Rohit Sharma will accept a captaincy offer from MI, as it would be an ideal swansong for the champion cricketer if he leads the franchise to a record sixth title. With Hardik Pandya as captain for the last three seasons, Mumbai lost 10 of their 14 league games in 2024 and finished at the bottom of the standings. They then reached the playoffs in 2025, but finished ninth in 2026 with four wins from 14 matches.
“Rohit will also definitely accept the captaincy offer for one year. If it’s going to be his last season, what better way to sign off than winning a title as captain? He’s probably not going to play after 2027. So why not go out as a captain and become a six-time title-winning captain?” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).
A sixth title would put Rohit ahead of Dhoni as captain in terms of IPL titles and end MI’s title drought since 2020.
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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
