Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mark Boucher on Monday (March 18) found himself in a rather uncomfortable position when he was asked about former skipper Rohit Sharma with current captain Hardik Pandya sitting right next to him.

Boucher and Hardik were addressing a press conference when a journalist asked about the reason as to why Rohit was removed as captain ahead of the IPL 2024 season.

Both of them were taken aback by the question and what followed was an awkward silence in the room.

"I just want to know what was the one reason that made the management decide that Rohit should not captain Mumbai Indians and Hardik should captain the side?" the reporter asked.

Boucher initially put the microphone up to respond to the question but then eventually shook his head and remained tight-lipped. Hardik too maintained a straight face amid an awkward moment of silence.

In December last year, MI appointed Hardik Pandya as their new captain. The all-rounder would be succeeding Rohit Sharma, who led the franchise to five IPL titles in his 10-year stint as skipper.

This move came after Hardik returned to MI, following a high-profile trade from Gujarat Titans (GT), whom he led in the past two seasons.

Notably, Pandya started his IPL career at Mumbai Indians in 2015 and played for them until 2021, winning a total of four titles in seven seasons. Ahead of the 2022 mega-auction, MI let him go as they could retain only a few players.

After his release, Hardik was signed by the new Gujarat-based franchise, whom he led to a title win in 2022 and a runner-up finish last year.