The five-time winners of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians, have seen a big drop in their social media followers after Rohit Sharma's sudden dismissal from captaincy. Fans are unhappy about the decision of Hardik Pandya taking over as the captain of the team, and as a result, the team lost more than 5 lakh Instagram followers. There was a wave of dissatisfaction among the supporters of the team due to this sudden turn, and many of them expressed their displeasure about the decision on social media.
During his remarkable captaincy of the Mumbai Indians from 2013 to 2023, Rohit Sharma guided the team to five IPL victories and became the team’s face. Rohit captained the Mumbai Indians team in 158 games and achieved a remarkable 56.33 per cent victory rate. His impact on the team was unmatched. In addition to impacting team dynamics, the choice to replace him has left supporters wondering why this change was made at this particular time and how it was handled, leading to a series of reactions from the fans.
“Never expected from MI, but they disappointed millions of peoples today. From 2011 I'm supporting MI only because of Rohit Sharma so for me Rohit>>>> MI. He is my favourite player and always will be my favorite #Rohitsharma #MumbaiIndians #NoCaptainRohitNoMI #ShameOnMI,” wrote one of the X (formerly known as Twitter) users.
“5 IPL trophies #MumbaiIndians will never find a captain like Rohit Sharma ever again. It’s a horrible decision and a big loss for the franchise. #HardikPandya is good but nowhere close to @ImRo45 when it comes to leadership,” wrote another user.
Sharing a funny video, a third user wrote, “Rohit fans chasing Mumbai Indians management after they sacked Rohit and made Hardik Pandya the new captain. #HardikPandya #IPL2024 #RohitSharma #MumbaiIndians.”
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians' global head of performance, Mahela Jayawardene, thanked Rohit Sharma for his outstanding leadership during the previous ten years. The Mumbai Indians are now one of the most popular and successful teams in IPL history, which is mainly because of Rohit’s contribution, according to Jayawardene. In addition, he congratulated Hardik Pandya on taking over as captain and underlined the team's dedication to being future-ready.