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”It was a tough decision. It was emotional, to be honest. It’s fair on the fans as well (to react). I think everyone is emotional and we have to respect that as well. But at the same time, as a franchise, you have to make those decisions,” Jayawardene told JIO Cinema.
The former Sri Lanka captain said the decision was made after meaningful conversations. ”The legacy is something we want to build on and make sure we keep fighting for those wins, those trophies. That’s the focus going ahead. ”Probably, everyone in their eyes will think it is too soon, but it is a decision we had to make at some point,” Jayawardene said.
Jayawardene said Pandya fitted well into Mumbai’s leadership environment. ”Hardik (Pandya) has been in the dressing room for quite some time, so that’s nothing new. We know what he brings in as an all-rounder,” he said. ”It will be something different with his experience of leading the team at Gujarat, so, it is an opportunity to build on that.” However, Jayawardene said stripping of captaincy will not have any effect on Rohit’s place in the MI establishment.
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”Sachin played with the youngsters. He gave the leadership to someone else and made sure Mumbai Indians was going in the right direction. It’s the same thing. We had this conversation and everyone is buying into that. It’s for us to look forward to the next season,” he added.