The Mumbai Indians' decision to change the franchise's captaincy, with Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma, became one of the most talked-about topics on social media. Ritika Sajedh commented "so many things wrong with it," as MI coach Mark Boucher explained the 'cricketing reasons' behind the change in leadership in a podcast. As cracks start to become more visible in the Mumbai Indians family, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra is worried about Hardik Pandya, wondering whether the all-rounder will be able to make the players work as a team.
Rohit remains one of the most successful captains in the history of IPL, winning 5 titles while leading the franchise. But, out of the blue, he was replaced as captain by Hardik, who came into the team as part of a high-profile trade from Gujarat Titans.
Aakash Chopra, in a video on his YouTube channel, fired a warning saying he doubts if the MI family can continue working as a team after Ritika's comment made it clear that all is not well in the franchise.
"I was listening to an interview with Boucher where he explained why they did the captaincy change. He tried to explain the cricketing reasons, but Ritika (Rohit's wife) commented below that, and it was obvious that it would go viral because she said - 'So many things are wrong with this'," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"We don't know what's right and what's wrong. I am slightly worried because the Mumbai Indians have a phenomenal team on paper, but the biggest pressure on Hardik Pandya will be whether he can combine the five fingers to make a fist, whether he can take the entire team in one direction," he added.
Hardik remains in the training ground at present, working to get himself fully fit before the start of the IPL 2024 season.
The newly-appointed MI skipper led the Gujarat Titans to two successive IPL finals, winning one of them. Hence, the MI owners have big expectations from him.