Rohit Sharma Effect? Mumbai Indians Lose Lakhs Of Social Media Followers After Hardik Pandya Named New Captain
New Delhi: The five-time champion Mumbai Indians made the huge announcement of Hardik Pandya taking over the leadership role replacing Rohit Sharma for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. In the process, Rohit ends a 10-year stint as Mumbai Indians captain. The development didn’t go well with the netizens as fans showed their frustration on social media. Approximately, Mumbai Indians lost four lakh Instagram followers within an hour in support of their captain.
Rohit has been an integral part of Mumbai Indians in IPL. After playing three years for now-defunct Deccan Chargers, the right-hander joined Mumbai Indians in 2011 and was elevated to captaincy two years later after legendary Sachin Tendulkar retired from cricket.
The decision struck gold for the franchise as they won five IPL titles to date, all under Rohit. His stellar captaincy record in IPL also proved beneficial for Rohit to take over the national team duties from Virat Kohli in 2021.
Here are the viral tweets from the social media site ‘X’
Mumbai Indians lost 4 Lakh Followers within an hour.
That’s the power of our captain.#RohitSharma
— RG for India (@RGforIndia_24) December 15, 2023
I just unfollowed @mipaltan
Agar Rohit captain nahi to no more support for MI.#RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/pgBOxSUoHP— Vivek Gupta (@30guptavivek) December 15, 2023
One fan wrote, ‘Rohit Sharma has done Everything to his Franchise Mumbai Indians but they Broke a heart.’
Rohit Sharma has done Everything to his Franchise Mumbai Indians but they
Broke a heart #RohitSharma #ShameOnMi#MumbaiIndians https://t.co/iyJSLjEGa6— Pirag Choudhary (@pirag_jakhar) December 15, 2023
Successful unfollow the account who choose coal over diamond. Mumbai Indians end his ipl trophy campaign by only 5trophies.worst decision by Mumbai Indians. shame on mi.#MumbaiIndians #RohitSharma #HardikPandya #Captain #boycottmumbaiindians pic.twitter.com/X19d0Q6GPY
— karan Bajaj (@bajajkaran372) December 15, 2023
Another fan wrote a caption which stated “Just Unfollowed, Expecting the same from you guys.”
Just Unfollowed @mipaltan
Expecting the same from you guys#RohitSharma • #MumbaiIndians#RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/AfjixUGsrn
— PANDIT SACHIN KUMAR SHARMA ADV (@SACHINK57872993) December 15, 2023
#I just unfollowed @mipaltan
Agar Rohit captain nahi to no more support for MI.#RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/0lja2qxOo6— Sid Sikarwar (@SidSikarwa84900) December 15, 2023
Commenting on this transition Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance, Mumbai Indians said, “It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin (Tendulkar) to Harbhajan (Singh) and Ricky (Ponting) to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season.”
“We express our gratitude to Rohit Sharma for his exceptional leadership; his tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 has been nothing short of extraordinary. His leadership has not only brought unparalleled success to the team but has also solidified his place as one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL.”
“Under his guidance, MI became one of the most successful and loved teams ever. We will look forward to his guidance and experience on and off the field to further strengthen MI. We welcome Hardik Pandya as the new captain of MI and wish him all the very best,” concluded Mahela.