Mumbai Indians (MI) are facing huge lashback from the fans after they replaced their five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma and replaced him with Hardik Pandya. As soon as the new broke out, some fans began to unfollow MI on Instagram app, said a report. As many as 1.5 lakh followers were lost by MI within a day of the announcement of the new captain. Hardik was traded in by Mumbai from Gujarat Titans (GT) in an all-cash deal. He spent two years at GT as captain and reportedly was ready to rejoin MI only if he was given the captaincy.
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Commenting on the change of guards at Mumbai Indians, Indian legend and a die-hard Mumbaikar himself Sunil Gavaskar says that the franchise must have taken the decision in the benefit of the team. “We shouldn’t go into rights and wrongs. But, the decision they have taken is for the benefit of the team. In the last two years, Rohit’s contribution, even with the bat, has dipped a little bit. Earlier, he used to score big, but in the last two years, they finished No. 9 or No. 10 the year before last year and in the last year they qualified for the playoffs,” Gavaskar said in a chat on Star Sports.
Gavaskar went on to analyse Rohit’s performance with the bat and said that his batting might have got affected by the burder of the captaincy. “But we missed seeing the mojo in Rohit Sharma that we used to see in the previous few years. Maybe, he was a little tired because of playing continuous cricket, he was a little tired because of captaincy, leading India and the franchise,” Gavaskar added.
1_0_ Years, 6_ Trophies
1_ Mumbai Cha ____!_____ ______! _
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— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 15, 2023
The veteran cricketer said that MI are looking to build a team for the future and they might need fresh thinking to do so. Hardik fits into the scheme of things, in that regard and hence the change. “I feel that the decision, they have kept in mind that Hardik is a young captain who has produced results. Hardik has led Gujarat to the finals twice, and he led them to the title in 2022. I think they have made him captain by considering all this. At times, you need fresh thinking. Hardik brings in that fresh thinking. I think the decision will only benefit Mumbai Indians, it will not deter them,” said Gavaskar, who is a MI fan himself.