Last Sunday when Mumbai Indians faced off against the Gujarat Titans, one moment overshadowed the entire game. In the final over of the first innings, Mumbai Indians’ new captain Hardik Pandya, sent former captain Rohit Sharma to the field at the boundary line, much to the chagrin of a large portion of the MI fanbase and especially fans of the current Indian skipper. The decision to send Sharma to the boundary is honestly dicey, because Rohit’s agility, or rather the lack of it would have been glaring on the boundary, but also because sending Rohit to the boundary where he is far far away from the ear of the bowler, sent a statement to the fans. That 30-40 yard distance indicates the supposed ocean of space that has formed between two factions in the Mumbai Indians dressing room, however, has all this been blown out of proportion?
The Elephant In The Room
Pandya was traded to the Mumbai Indians from the Gujurat Titans this summer for a whopping 15 crore. Usually, the return of a prodigal son is marked by festivities and an air of excitement. However, the Indian international’s return to the 5-time champions has been marred by controversy. The former GT man’s contract apparently had a captaincy clause within it. This clause forced Mumbai’s management to remove the veteran Rohit Sharma from the captaincy in an unceremonious fashion. This decision has seen lots of backlash from the fanbase as well as Rohit’s wife Ritika Sajdeh. This whole situation has led to the ugly shadow of discontent and rifts looming over the Mumbai Indians dressing room.
The Bitter Truth
Although the decision to sack the veteran captain was handled in an undignified fashion by the top brass of the Mumbai-based outfit, it was necessary. Rohit Sharma is 37 years old now. His IPL performances in the past couple of years highlight this fact. His batting has been abysmal and The Mumbai Indians have been bereft of a new addition to their trophy cabinet since their triumph in 2020. This was going to happen at some point and Mumbai fans should be thankful it’s someone like Hardik Pandya, a 4-time IPL Champion leading them rather than anyone else.
The Overreaction
Mumbai fans and Rohit fans in particular have almost made it their God-given duty to hate Hardik at this point. Instead of supporting their new captain and understanding that change is inevitable, all they’ve done is boo and whistle the new skipper. The people harassing Hardik are the same ones who would instantly accept a job at a different company if they were offered a higher wage and a greater role, absolute hypocrites. People have forgotten who Hardik Pandya is. He was instrumental in Mumbai’s famous triumphs in 2017, 2019, and 2020. His clutch performances on the international stage have almost been forgotten by fans of the Indian Cricket Team. This is a player who went to a completely new team and led them to 2 IPL finals in 2 years and this is how he gets treated? Absolute Travesty.
The False Narrative
Another moment that made the rounds on Social Media was actually after the game. Hardik walked up to Rohit and hugged him affectionately from behind before Rohit turned and in a way that is typical Rohit, chided Pandya. Fans have used this 5-second clip to create some extremely far-fetched narratives. “Rohit hates Hardik! Hardik is jealous of Rohit’s popularity! Hardik is plotting to axe Rohit!” Not only are these narratives ridiculously untrue but they are also dangerous. Fans have conveniently ignored the way Hardik affectionately hugged Rohit, like a younger brother would hug his older sibling and they’ve focused only on the way Rohit seemed to scold Pandya. These dangerous narratives are biased to the extreme and are eerily similar to the Sharma-Kohli rift that was created by the media in 2021 when in reality both players had no problem with each other and had always vouched for and cared for each other.
The Conclusion
One moment or one match isn’t enough to predict the trajectory of a team’s season or a player’s captaincy. Hardik Pandya has proven time and time again that he is a special player and a special leader. It is time for the old guard to step back and the new blood to rise. These false, dangerous narratives will decide the Mumbai Indians’ season, will they succumb to the buzz off the field or will they use this to make it number 6 and become the most decorated franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League
