Mumbai Indians Captain Hardik Pandya Calls Rohit Sharma 'One of the Pillars of This Franchise'

Rohit Sharma on Wednesday became the first player to appear in 200 IPL games for Mumbai Indians when he took to the field against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

MI mentor and icon Sachin Tendulkar spoke about the role he played in bringing Rohit to MI, saying, “Long time ago, I was having a discussion with Mrs Ambani that we have to bring Rohit to Mumbai Indians. From there on, what you’ve been able to achieve for MI is simply remarkable.”

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya hoped for the moment to be a special occasion for Rohit, saying, “You’ve been one of the pillars of this franchise who has achieved so much under your belt. Ro, you’re known for your double centuries, I’m sure this will also be special.”

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Rohit became just the third player after MS Dhoni (CSK) and Virat Kohli (RCB) to play 200 games for a single IPL team. He was also given a ‘200’ special jersey by MI mentor, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, ahead of Wednesday’s match.

ALSO WATCH | Sachin Tendulkar Presents Rohit Sharma With a Special Commemorative MI Jersey Ahead of 200th IPL Match for Mumbai Indians

Overall, this is Rohit’s 245th IPL match, including taking in the appearances he made for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, which is the second-most to Dhoni’s 252 matches. Rohit has played in the IPL for Mumbai Indians in 14 different editions of the tournament, making him the only player to achieve this feat for the franchise.

Since he became a part of the franchise in 2011, Rohit has become the all-time leading run getter for them in the IPL, scoring over 5000 runs. Nobody else has more than 3500 runs for MI in IPL. Rohit has won 16 Player of the Match awards for Mumbai Indians, which again are the most by any MI player.

Rohit, who captained MI to five IPL title wins, is only the second Indian after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to score a IPL hundred for MI and also has the 2nd highest individual score for the franchise in the IPL, scoring 109 not v Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in 2012.

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Rohit has featured in 111 wins for Mumbai Indians, the most by any player for the franchise. He has also been the captain in 87 of those wins, again a record for the franchise. He has made 35 scores of 50+ for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, easily the most by any player for the franchise.