New Delhi: Ahead of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) auction 2024, the sudden switchover of Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT) to Mumbai Indians (MI) franchisee stirred up many debates but him replacing incumbent MI skipper Rohit Sharma created a lot of heartburn for the latter’s fans, followers & well-wishers.
The ‘shocking’ change of guard at Mumbai Indians (MI) has also earned the franchise a lot of public ire & wrath from umpteen netizens. Cricket lovers & Rohit Sharma’s fans are not livid with the slight meted out to ‘hitman’ by the franchise but also at the prospect of a wannabe captain replacing the veteran skipper, who led the team to many IPL victories.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s reaction to Rohit Sharma’s exit turned many heads.
Notably, Mumbai Indians is the most successful franchisees, having bagged the title most of times in the IPL history. Rohit Sharma led the team from the front and played decisive role in bringing home all the IPL titles. The ‘forced exit’ of the skipper by a newcomer has irked Rohit’s fans and they have made it a point to vent their anger at the franchisee as well as Pandya, who made an ‘opportunistic move’ to insult the cricketing veteran.
Hardik Pandya, till now associated with Gujarat Titans (GT) also proved his mettle as he bagged the first IPL trophy for franchisee last year and fell short of winning one this year, as CSK outwitted his team in final moments.
As Pandya’s shift to Mumbai Indians continues to stir the pot, Rohit Sharma’s fans are also in no mood of taking it lying down. They have been trending two X trends since morning – RIP MUMBAI INDIANS & SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS.
They forget what @ImRo45 was done for them
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS pic.twitter.com/EWxvoQyqZp
— 🧢! (@k7assy) December 17, 2023
𝗚𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘀..!!
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANs pic.twitter.com/8x5jeeswT7
— SAM×Angry (@Vitamin_is_back) December 18, 2023
He gave everything to this franchise, and what they did for him 😣💔💔 #RohithSharma
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS pic.twitter.com/7g9z5Hday0
— 🕊️ (@Parisy_lily_) December 17, 2023
Rohit Sharma was the one who made them one family. He united us all. 🙂💔
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS pic.twitter.com/lGD1hiUhd6
— 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝕏 (@ImHydro45) December 17, 2023
A lot many users posted memes to share their angst.
Rohit Sharma is our Mumbai Indians Captain not Hardik Pandya 🥺💔
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS 🥺
Loyalty is Royalty 🙏#RohitSharma𓃵 #RohitSharma #Hitman #HardikPandya #MumbaiIndians #Captaincy pic.twitter.com/aBlnXVjKzh— Ashutosh Srivastava 🇮🇳 (@sri_ashutosh08) December 18, 2023
Sad reality 💔
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS pic.twitter.com/oPO9HXnqBv
— Dev 🇮🇳 (@time__square) December 17, 2023
Captain Rohit Sharma has a job to do.🔪
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS pic.twitter.com/eBa8aZyawf
— 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝕏 (@ImHydro45) December 17, 2023
Under both hashtags, the fans are slamming & hitting out at the IPL’s most successful franchisee for insulting its most successful skipper who led the team in 11 seasons.
A lot many accused the Mumbai Indians of illegally buying followers to boost its standing ahead of auction.
Mumbai Indians exposed by fake follow #RIPMumbaiIndians #RohitSharma #unfollow #fakefollow_mi @mipaltan @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/GQFvq8HcOS
— rohit sharma fan (@shivpujanydv36) December 18, 2023
Mumbai Indians Started Buying Fake Followers 😅@mumbaiindians #mumbaiindians #rohitsharma #ipl #ipl2024 #fake #fakefollowers #RIPMumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/AQ3FwcvDdr
— Rohan Kumar Jha 𝕏 (@TheRohanKumar45) December 17, 2023
Fight Between Real Followers & Bots😮💨
We didn’t knew that you are this much Shameless @mipaltan 🤣🤣
SNAKE MUMBAI INDIANS pic.twitter.com/Jb7sbTJC58
— Rohit45 (@Hitmania450) December 17, 2023
For the uninitiated, the franchisee had lost thousands of followers after Rohit-Pandya announcement.
