Mumbai Indian, a franchise that has won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title a total of 5 times, remains in absolute mess. Placed 9th in the 10-team points table, MI are already out of the race for the playoffs, and could even end the campaign as the 'worst team'. While performances from star players have been pretty inconsistent, off-field issues haven't left MI's side either. The team management's decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as captain has been one of the most discussed developments. In fact, Rohit seemed to have discussed the same with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and a few others when MI visited the Eden Gardens for an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Saturday.
Ahead of the start of the match, the details of Rohit's chat with Abhishek were heard by fans on social media in a video that KKR shared, and later deleted. As rain resulted in a delayed start of the IPL match in Kolkata, Rohit was eve spotted engaging in an intense chat with a few of KKR's players.
In the stills that emerged on social media, former India bowling coach Bharat Arun, along with players like KS Bharat and Manish Pandey could be seen talking to Rohit.
Earlier, a video had surfaced on social media where Rohit was said to have talked to Abhishek Nayar about the situation at MI since Hardik Pandya took over the captaincy from him.
It isn't yet known what the conversation between Rohti and KKR members was about. However, Rohit has been backed to join the Kolkata franchise next year, ending his association with the Mumbai Indians.
"I have a feeling, he won't be at Mumbai Indians next season. I would love to see him at KKR. Imagine him open there, Gauti as a mentor, Iyer as a captain. They will have a very strong batting, at that wicket (Eden Gardens). He bats very well on any wicket, he is that great a player. But it will be good to see him at KKR," legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram had said.
Gautam Gambhir, who is an admirer of Rohit's skills, is working as KKR's mentor in IPL 2024 season and could be key to the franchise's plans of roping in the Hitman next year at the mega auction.