IPL 2024: 5 key decisions that defined the season
₹24.75 crore to acquire Mitchell Starc. After a poor start to the season, the Aussie speedster turned out match-winning performances when it mattered the most: the qualifier and final. Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians (MI) to five IPL titles after taking over the captaincy from Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting in 2013.
But the franchise owners, the Ambanis, lost patience after three dry years from 2021, culminating in a loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2023 qualifier. GT’s captain was MI discard Hardik Pandya, who had led the new franchise to the title in the previous year against all odds. So, in a deal whose full details are unknown, MI brought Pandya back, not just as a player but the captain in place of Sharma.
Fans vented their ire at the perceived shoddy treatment of Sharma. Pandya’s poor form with bat and ball compounded matters. Most of all, his captaincy was nothing like what it was in GT where he had Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten advising him.
MI finished last. The decline of this rich franchise has a lot to do with the outlandish moves it made even before the poaching of Pandya. In the 2022 auction, they splurged ₹15.25 crore on Ishan Kishan and ₹8 crore on Jofra Archer, who wasn’t even going to be available, weakening their bowling attack in the process.
Like MI, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had a poor run of seasons from 2021 onward, after qualifying for the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, starting from 2016. Then there was a falling out with David Warner who had to hand over his captaincy to Kane Williamson midway in 2021, despite leading the franchise to a title in 2016. They hit rock bottom in 2023.
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