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- Published: December 16, 2023 13:17
New Delhi: India’s biggest cricket carnival, Indian Premier League (IPL), is always a hot topic whenever any event related to the tournament comes near.
After a huge uproar during the transfer window saga, when Mumbai Indians signed Gujrat Titan’s skipper Hardik Pandya in an all-cash deal, the five-time IPL champions have created buzz once again, by replacing their most successful captain ever, i.e., Rohit Sharma, with Hardik Pandya for the coming season.
All the trophies that Mumbai Indians have won so far came under Rohit’s leadership, and a surprising change before the 2024 season, has sent ripples around the Internet.
A large chunk of Mumbai Indians’ fans are not happy with the decision and are questioning Mumbai Indians’ loyalty towards their legend player, over the unexpected decision.
Rohit Sharma led the Mumbai Indians from 2013 to 2023, successfully leading them to five IPL and one Champions League title.
The announcement of giving Hardik Pandya the captaincy was made on Friday evening, through their social media page.
To new beginnings. Good luck, #CaptainPandya 💙 pic.twitter.com/qRH9ABz1PY
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 15, 2023
Mumbai Indians also shared a video on their social media page giving tribute to their legendary captain.
Ro,
In 2013 you took over as captain of MI. You asked us to 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞. In victories & defeats, you asked us to 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. 10 years & 6 trophies later, here we are. Our 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧, your legacy will be etched in Blue & Gold. Thank you, 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐎💙 pic.twitter.com/KDIPCkIVop— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 15, 2023
Interestingly, Hardik Pandya was part of the Mumbai Indians squad from 2015 to 2021, before leaving for Gujrat Titans, where he captained the side to back-to-back finals, even winning one of them.
Social media boycott
As soon as Mumbai Indians made the decision public, they were in the crosshairs of angry fans, who did not appreciate the team’s decision.
A lot of them said they would stop supporting Mumbai Indians after this, and the result was visible as the five-time champions lost followers in chunks on their social media pages.
Following the announcement of Hardik Pandya as captain, the official Instagram page of Mumbai Indians experienced a decrease of around 300,000 followers😳
📸: IPL/Instagram pic.twitter.com/XZ3uVmsnC5
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) December 16, 2023
Netizens react
Netizens also showed their disapproval of the decision through their posts on X (Formerly known as Twitter).
Check out the reactions below:
I am retired as Mumbai Indians Fan 💔
#ShameOnMI pic.twitter.com/M7FuJ44BE6
— ITS V!SHAL !! 😎 (@Rohitfied) December 16, 2023
A Rohit Sharma fan burns the Mumbai Indians jersey. pic.twitter.com/WItos5hL4H
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 16, 2023
They thought they will ask Rohit to quit and nothing will happen.
Entire Mumbai Indians team is not happy, fans are not happy. This is what Rohit Sharma has earned. He made Mumbai Indians what it is today. pic.twitter.com/Hfd4uI5QKZ
— ANSHUMAN🚩 (@AvengerReturns) December 16, 2023
A very bad morning for loyal Mumbai Indians fans like me. pic.twitter.com/cPXvZwdTbB
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) December 16, 2023
Rohit had groomed Bumrah and Surya for leadership and after 2 years he would have happily given the captaincy to any one of them to take Mumbai Indians forward, but MI brought a chapri for whom only money matters and Made him captain.💔
You can’t be a human being if any mf is… pic.twitter.com/akpsSl8Ay3
— Jyran (@Jyran45) December 16, 2023
Who cares about franchise, it was him always💗#RohitSharma #RohitSacked #RohitSharmaSacked #MumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/oSLXnVXiMI
— Karan Jaat (@Estd_18) December 16, 2023
Absolute scenes in Mumbai Indians. What an edit! That outrageous ending though! 😂pic.twitter.com/ynISsuZxcu
— Srini Mama (@SriniMaama16) December 16, 2023
Surya Kumar Yadav’s Insta Story
Everything ain’t well in MI.#MumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/6XIj5HWw80— Hustler (@HustlerCSK) December 16, 2023
Scenes right now!
One family ❌
Two family ✅#RohitSharma𓃵 #SuryakumarYadav#HardikPandya #RohitSacked#ShameOnMI #AUSvsPAK#MumbaiIndians #RohitSharmaLike ❤️🩹 Retweet 🔄 pic.twitter.com/N8WSCXbYUD
— Memer Aspirant (@MemerAspirant) December 16, 2023
