Since Mumbai Indians have removed Rohit Sharma from the captaincy, the franchise is under fire. The five-time champions saw a huge drop in their fan following as more than one million Instagram users have unfollowed their handle. Which implies MI fans are not ready to see Rohit Sharma playing under Hardik Pandya. The owner of the franchise Akash Ambani dealt with the same question in Dubai.
On Thursday, Akash Ambani and Neeta Ambani both Joined the Mumbai Indians’ Auction team in Dubai. They spent 16.9 crore to buy 8 players with Gerald Coetzee (5 cr), Dilshan Madushanka (4.6 cr), Nuwan Thusara (4.8 cr), and Mohammad Nabi (1.5 cr) being their overseas picks. The remaining four are uncapped Indian players.
Akash Ambani responds to Rohit Sharma fan’s question
During the auction, a Rohit Sharma fan posed a question on MI management, but Akash responded cheekily. Mumbai Indians’ Twitter handle reveals that during a commercial break at the Auction. One of the fans shouted, “Rohit Sharma ko vapis lao (Bring Rohit Sharma back)”. To which Akash Ambani replied saying “Chinta mat karo, who batting karega (Don’t worry, he will bat)”. It is a clear signal that Mumbai Indians will stand firm on their decision, although, Rohit will continue to do the job of opening batter.
𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢 💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/fNWLiWpgJS
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 19, 2023
According to reports, Mumbai Indians have been left with no alternative as the trade involving Hardik Pandya comes with a condition that he will assume the captaincy. Hardik Pandya was already leading Gujarat Titans, and he was unwilling to leave the team unless Mumbai Indians provided him with the captaincy role. Many are opposing this decision, but the likes of Sunil Gavaskar have supported Mumbai Indians, stating that there is no harm in entrusting the captaincy to a young and talented player like Hardik Pandya.
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Replacing a five-time IPL-winning captain like Rohit Sharma is undeniably a questionable decision. However, Hardik Pandya’s record as captain has been outstanding, surpassing any other player in the first two seasons as captain. In his debut as captain in 2022, Pandya guided Gujarat Titans to a title win in their inaugural season. In the preceding season, they reached the final once again, but a last-ball four by Ravindra Jadeja prevented them from securing back-to-back trophies.
