There have been rumors of a rift being observed in the Mumbai Indians (MI) dressing room following the unexpected removal of captain Rohit Sharma in December of last year, just before the 2024 Indian Premier League.
Instead, MI announced Hardik Pandya as the new captain. Pandya was acquired from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
A reported 'captaincy provision' in Hardik's contract was the subject of several media publications, while other sources stated that Rohit was not satisfied with the franchise's call.
Rohit Sharma led the MI team from 2013-2023 and won five IPL titles during his decade-long reign. However, in the past three IPL seasons, MI made it into the playoffs only once and even finished in 10th spot in IPL 2022.
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This was the supposed reason for MI management to remove Rohit Sharma as captain and instead make Hardik the skipper. Hardik Pandya proved his captaincy mettle by winning the IPL 2022 for Gujarat Titans and taking them to the final in IPL 2023.
Amid the talk, Mumbai Indians released a team video before the start of the IPL 2024. The interesting thing about the video was that it featured Rohit and Hardik together for the first time since the announcement.
During a press conference, Hardik Pandya admitted that he hadn’t talked to Rohit Sharma since being named captain of the MI team. He had also stated that ‘it won’t feel awkward’ to have the veteran Indian opener around.
However, these statements from Hardik Pandya and Rohit’s removal as captain didn’t sit well with MI fans who reacted to the video on social media.
Here are a few posts:
