Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s appointment as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 caused a lot of stir among the cricket fraternity members and fans.

Hardik, who led the Gujarat Titans to two consecutive IPL finals and won the IPL trophy in 2022, now steps into a leadership role for one of the most successful franchises, the Mumbai Indians, in the upcoming IPL 2024. This devolvement is ruling the headlines all over the internet.

Hardik replaced MI's most successful captain, Rohit Sharma, and it didn’t go down well with many. Rohit is celebrated as one of the all-time great captains in the IPL, having won five trophies as skipper for the franchise.

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MI’s decision to replace Rohit with Hardik as skipper has stirred strong reactions among Mumbai fans, as they have been slamming the franchise for the move and lakhs of fans even unfollowed the franchise across social media platforms.

A new report has claimed that Rohit was already aware of the change in the captaincy at MI. According to The Indian Express, the former MI skipper was already informed by the franchise at the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 that they would be appointing Pandya as their captain. 

The report further revealed that Rohit agreed to play under Hardik in the IPL 2024, who left the Gujarat Titans (GT) only when the MI offered him the captaincy before the trade was finalized. Hardik wanted to return to MI only if he was made captain and they agreed.

(With The Indian Express Inputs)