There has reportedly been a rift in the Mumbai Indians (MI) camp as Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav allegedly got up and walked away as Hardik Pandya, the MI captain walked out to bat in the nets ahead of the IPL 2024 match against KKR in Eden Gardens.
Mumbai Indians have already been eliminated from the race for playoffs and KKR has secured a finish in the top two spots in the IPL 2024 points table.
The alleged rift in the MI camp germinated when Mumbai Indians, in an unexpected move, pulled up Hardik from Gujarat Titans and proclaimed him as their captain, displacing Rohit, a five-time IPL title-winning captain.
Hardik was booed wherever MI played in the first half of the 17th edition. This was a homecoming not on the cards for the ace Indian all-rounder. His own performance and MI's horror run made matters more complicated.
As per a Dainik Jagran report, Hardik and Rohit have rarely practiced together during this IPL. On the eve of the match against KKR, which MI lost, Rohit hit the nets first. There was no sign of Hardik when the Indian captain was going about his business.
Meanwhile, the report added that when Hardik Pandya came out to bat in the nets, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, sitting on the sidelines, along with Tilak Varma, got up and left.
There was also a surprise when Hardik Pandya was named in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 and was also appointed as the vice-captain with Rohit Sharma captaining the side.
The report in Dainik Jagran also claimed, quoting sources, that skipper Rohit as well as some of the BCCI selectors including Ajit Agarkar, head of the panel, were not in favor of Hardik Pandya's inclusion in the 15-member squad.
In the IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya has blown hot and cold. In 13 games, he has scored 200 runs at a strike-rate of 144.93, while also taking 11 wickets in 13 matches at an economy of 10.59.
However, the report added that there was pressure on Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma to include Hardik Pandy in the squad. The report didn’t mention who put the pressure on or from where the pressure came.
(Dainik Jagran reports)
