We wanted to take captaincy pressure off Rohit, he adds value as batter: MI head coach Boucher
Cape Town, Feb 6: Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher has revealed that Rohit Sharma's removal from the team's captaincy was a tough decision meant to free him as a batter given that he did not have a great run in the past couple of seasons.
The Reliance-owned franchise, in the most talked about one-way 'all-cash trade' in the IPL history, bought back all-rounder Hardik Pandya after his successful two-year stint with Gujarat Titans. The team subsequently named him the skipper replacing Rohit, who led the side to five IPL titles.
"We saw a window to get Hardik back as a player," Boucher told South Africa-based podcast 'Banter with The Boys'.
"We still want him (Rohit) as a player, absolutely because we know he has some great value to add and just go out there and actually enjoy it, without the hype of being the captain," he said.
"He probably hasn't had the best couple of seasons with the bat but he has done well as captain and I just thought after speaking with whole Mumbai Indians group, we thought may be this is an opportunity for him to step in for his last year or so," the coach added.
While the hype around an Indian skipper will still be there but Boucher expects Rohit to operate more freely with the bat.
"He will still captain India so that hype is going to be there but when he steps into the IPL, may be take that extra bit of pressure off him as captain and may be we get the best out of Rohit Sharma...," he hoped.
"...playing with nice smile on his face and spending time with beautiful family that he has got, there's no easy way to do it," he said.
Boucher said Rohit's busy schedule also puts pressure on Indian captain.
"One thing I picked up with Roh (nickname) is that he is a fantastic guy and he has been captaining for ages and he has been doing really well and not just for MI but for India as well, he walks into a place and there are cameras on him and he is so busy," Boucher said.
Rohit enjoys a massive fan base in social media and Boucher urged fans to understand his removal was a cricketing decision.
"A lot of people don't understand this in India and people get quite emotional about it...it is more of a cricketing decision that was made...it will bring the best out of Rohit as a person and a player and let him just go out there enjoy and score some good runs."
On Pandya's return, Boucher said that the Baroda man has shown admirable leadership skills for Gujarat Titans in the past two editions.
"He is a Mumbai Indians boy and he won his first year as captain and came runner up in the second year, so there's obviously some very good leadership skills," he said.
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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
