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[Saba Sports News] Mumbai Indians’ new captain, Hardik Pandya’s unexpected action has stirred discontent among followers of his predecessor, Rohit Sharma, particularly online. Reports suggest Pandya has stopped following Sharma on Instagram, highlighting a growing conflict involving the IPL team’s support staff and Sharma’s spouse, Ritika Sajdeh.
The discord within the team became apparent when Ritika Sajdeh openly criticized head coach Mark Boucher for his comments regarding the captaincy switch.
Boucher, in a statement, outlined the cricketing rationale behind replacing Sharma with Pandya as captain, emphasizing it as a strategic decision aimed at maximizing Sharma’s playing potential.
“I think it was purely a cricketing decision. We saw the window period to get Hardik back as a player. For me it’s a transition phase. A lot of people don’t understand in India, people get quite emotional, but you know you take the emotions away from it. I think it’s just more of a cricketing decision that was made and I do think it is going to bring the best out of Rohit as a person as a player. Just let him go out and enjoy and score some good runs.”
“One thing I did pick up with Ro (Rohit) is that he is a fantastic guy. I mean he’s been captaining for ages and he’s done really well for Mumbai Indians. Now he also leads India as well. It is that he walks into a place and there’s just cameras in it and he’s so busy and he hasn’t had probably the best couple of seasons of late with the bat but he’s done well as a captain,” Boucher added.
“I mean one of the things I have spoken about is when you arrive at the IPL and he (Chris Morris) will be able to tell you as well that there’s a lot of stuff going on, there’s photoshoots and this and that and a lot of emphasis is not actually on the cricket. It’s more about the advertising and all that sort of stuff,” he pointed out. “I just thought you know when we’re speaking with the whole Mumbai Indians group, we thought that maybe this is the opportunity for him to step as a player. We believe he got some great value to add and just go out there and actually enjoy it without the hype of being a captain,” Mark Boucher noted. “He is still going to captain India so that hype’s going be there but when he steps into the IPL maybe just taking that extra bit of pressure off him as a captain and maybe we get the best out of Rohit Sharma. We want to see him playing with a smile on his face,” he concluded.
However, Ritika Sajdeh disagreed with Boucher’s assessment, indicating a rift with her response to his explanation on social media, “So many things wrong with this…”
The situation has led to speculation about team unity, with former cricketer Aakash Chopra commenting on the potential for division within the squad. He noted Ritika’s public disagreement as a sign of deeper issues within the Mumbai Indians organization.
“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’,” Aakash Chopra shared 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.”
This controversy follows the decision to replace Sharma, who had led the team to multiple IPL victories, amidst a backdrop of declining social media support for the team and criticism of Pandya.
Pandya, previously a key player for Mumbai Indians, had left to join Gujarat Titans but returned to lead Mumbai Indians amidst successful stints elsewhere. His leadership at Gujarat Titans had been notable, including leading them to an IPL title.
The ongoing saga has raised concerns about team harmony and leadership as the Mumbai Indians navigate this challenging period. The outcome of this situation could have significant implications for the team’s dynamics and performance in upcoming competitions.