‘They will lose the trophy too’ – Fans react as MI lose lakhs of social media followers after Hardik Pandya replaces Rohit Sharma as new skipper

The five-time champion Mumbai Indians made bold headlines on December 15 in the cricketing world. The IPL franchise announced that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is set to replace Rohit Sharma as the captain in the IPL 2024, which was a bit shocking for the Indian fans. Notably, Rohit Sharma was appointed as the captain back in 2013 after Ricky Ponting, and he went on to win the most titles in IPL history, making it the most successful franchise ever under his leadership.

However, fans are unhappy with the move of Rohit Sharma’s replacement. Notably, lakhs of Rohit Sharma fans unfollowed the MI franchise on Instagram and Twitter and slammed the franchise with some creepy and nasty words. According to sources, the Mumbai Indians have lost around 4 lakh followers in less than 24 hours since Rohit Sharma was removed as the captain of the team.

Moreover, a plethora of fans were seen burning the Mumbai Indians jersey after this move and demanding Rohit Sharma should be back as the captain who led MI from IPL 2013 to IPL 2023 and guided his side to win the five titles from his 10-year stint.

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Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season: Mahela Jayawardene

Meanwhile, it was the Global Head of Performance of MI Mahela Jayawardene who announced that Hardik Pandya will lead the side in the upcoming edition, keeping future perspectives in mind. In addition, Jayawardene expressed gratitude to Rohit Sharma for making the franchise the most successful one.

“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 to Harbhajan and Ricky 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,” Mahela Jayawardene said in the release.

Check out how fans have reacted to this unfollowing news: