Former Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting took full credit for bringing Rohit Sharma back into the Mumbai Indians team in 2013 and supporting him for captaincy. Mumbai Indians have won the IPL five times and Rohit has been their captain on all these occasions.
Rohit Sharma can often be considered one of the greatest captains in the world. He has been extremely successful in white-ball cricket and has led India to three ICC finals in ICC World Cup 2023, ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Currently, Rohit has given up captaincy in all formats of cricket. He is no longer the captain in the Indian team where he plays in ODIs, on the other hand, he continues to play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, but no longer as a captain.
The credit for Rohit Sharma’s rise under captaincy goes to Ricky Ponting.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, often regarded as the greatest captain in the history of cricket, took full credit for identifying Rohit Sharma as a special talent in the IPL. He also took credit for laying the foundation of Rohit Sharma’s captaincy days in the MI camp.
Ricky Ponting said, “I know Rohit very well. I got a chance to play with Rohit and also got a chance to train Rohit. When I left the post of captain of Mumbai Indians in 2013, I gave the first chance to Rohit Sharma to captain the team. I was the one who single-handedly chose Rohit as the captain of Mumbai Indians.”
Since his appointment, Rohit Sharma has won five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Ricky Ponting himself was part of the coaching unit when they won the IPL title in the first two seasons.
“50% of captaincy is done off the field.” – Ricky Ponting
The former Mumbai Indians player-turned-coach praised his former teammate. Rohit truly became one of the greatest white-ball cricketers after reaching the Mumbai Indians camp, where he spent his best years as a cricketer.
“I respect Rohit Sharma as a person. I respect what he has done as a player. Evaluating a captain on the field is the hardest thing for anyone to do, because a lot of the captaincy work is done off the field.”
“It’s not about field changes or bowling changes or how he sets his batting order. It’s about how he interacts with his players on and off the field. You know more than 50% of captaincy is done off the field.”
Ricky Ponting on the role of a true captain said, “It’s about how you interact, how you get the best out of your players, how you understand their personalities and how you allow them to be the best version of themselves on the field.”
Ricky Ponting said about Rohit Sharma, “Knowing Rohit, I can say that he is a very caring person. He will make sure that he takes care of his cricket team in the best possible way and if he does that, he can get the best out of your players.”
This is coming from the mouth of the greatest captain the game has ever seen. pic.twitter.com/6GB2JNsKTw
– 𝖢𝖆𝖆𝖆𝖆 (@ForeverFourty5) 16 March 2026
Rohit Sharma has left the captaincy in IPL 2025
The former Indian captain resigned from the captaincy of Mumbai Indians after Hardik Pandya was returned from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024 season. Hardik had then led Gujarat Titans to consecutive IPL finals, winning once in 2022.
Rohit Sharma had failed as a captain for three consecutive seasons, which led to the end of his tenure as captain after a decade. Currently, he opens the innings for Mumbai Indians and played a strong role in their campaign last time out.
Rohit had scored his second IPL century last season. He will return to IPL action at the Wankhede on March 29 when MI take on KKR in their tournament opener in 2026.
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