NEW DELHI: Kieron Pollard‘s elevation as the new head coach and the exits of Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Paras Mhambrey and Carl Hopkinson from the Mumbai Indians (MI) setup have already pressed the reset button in the camp. Appointments for the fielding coach and assistant coach are still pending, but the winds of change have well and truly arrived as the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners look to return to their glory days.The biggest, and most crucial, piece in the puzzle, however, remains captaincy.Should they go back to Rohit Sharma? The man who led them to five titles and understands the setup better than any other player? Or should they adopt a forward-looking approach with someone like Tilak Varma? What about Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav?Rohit is 39 and isn’t the best bet the franchise can make for the next cycle, but it’s more about restoring normalcy, allowing Pollard to ease into his new role and possibly grooming the next leader in the final year of the ongoing cycle. After sweeping changes to the support staff, a sense of familiarity in the leadership group will only make the transition and preparation for future challenges smoother.Pollard and Rohit played together for several years at MI. The West Indian was part of the famous “engine room”, also featuring Hardik and Krunal Pandya, that drove the franchise forward during their golden days and flourished when Rohit was at the helm.This is not to suggest that the two are the perfect recipe to restore order in that dressing room, but looking towards an inexperienced candidate at this stage will only complicate matters further. Tilak is taking giant strides in his cricketing career and is certainly the future leader of MI and Indian cricket. But right now, it’s the delicate balancing act between need and want that could help the management find some answers.By no means should going back to Rohit come across as shutting the door on someone like Tilak. It’s about keeping that door firmly secured until the stormy phase is well behind them and the management gains some sense of direction with the new personnel.The 2027 edition will be more about peaceful survival and getting things right as a group before the proper reset button is pressed ahead of the mega auction. Until then, even the biggest names in the setup, barring Hardik Pandya, whose potential trade is the talk of the town, will look to coexist. A sense of familiarity will help avoid the kind of drama that followed Pandya’s high-profile trade in 2023.
