Fans brutally trolled Hardik Pandya via savage memes after media reports claimed that he could miss the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) following his appointment as Mumbai Indians skipper, replacing Rohit Sharma from the position.

 

Hardik Pandya suffered an ankle injury during India's 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign and has been out of action since then.

 

After India's premier all-rounder twisted his ankle during the World Cup, he was sent to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to recover. 

 

Though previous reports suggested that Hardik Pandya was recuperating well under the supervision of the medical staff of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the latest news from Karnataka doesn't seem to be promising.

 

An Indian media publication claimed that Hardik Pandya will not be a part of Team India's T20I series against Afghanistan in January 2024. Moreover, there were concerns about his recovery from injury to lead Mumbai Indians in next year's IPL.

 

“There is no update on Hardik's fitness status as of now and one can say there remains a big question mark of him being available before the end of IPL,” a BCCI official told the outlet on the condition of anonymity.

 

The news about Hardik Pandya not getting fit to lead Mumbai Indians came as music to the ears of Rohit Sharma's supporters.

 

Welcoming the development, Rohit Sharma's admirers shared their reactions on social media.

 

While some shared hilarious memes and jokes on Twitter, now X, others reckoned that Hardik Pandya's injury-prone body was helping Rohit Sharma's cause.

 

A few observed that even if the management asked Rohit Sharma to captain Mumbai Indians in Hardik Pandya's absence, he should not take up the offer, considering how the franchise's management insulted him by sacking him from the post. 

 

Interestingly, Hardik Pandya returned to the franchise only days ago, sealing a remarkable comeback to his parent Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans (GT), whom he powered to a maiden IPL title in their first season in 2022.

 

During IPL 2023, Hardik Pandya's team topped the points table during the group stage before making it to the final. However, the Gujarat Titans failed to lift their second successive IPL trophy after losing to MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the title clash.

 

Following his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2015, Hardik Pandya played for the side for seven consecutive seasons before parting ways to join Gujarat Titans during the 2022 season.  

 

During his seven-year stint with Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya was a crucial link in the Rohit Sharma-led team's title-winning campaigns in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.

 

On the other hand, under Rohit Sharma's ten-year stint as captain from 2013 to 2023, Mumbai Indians lifted trophies in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

 

Mahela Jayawardene, the Global Head of Performance at Mumbai Indians (MI), explained the logic behind the franchise's move. 

 

“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,” Mahela Jayawardene stated.

 

“It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season,” the Sri Lankan great added.

 

“We express our gratitude to Rohit Sharma for his exceptional leadership; his tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Mahela Jayawardene continued.

 

“His leadership has not only brought unparalleled success to the team but has also solidified his place as one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL. Under his guidance, MI became one of the most successful and loved teams ever. We will look forward to his guidance and experience on and off the field to further strengthen MI. We welcome Hardik Pandya as the new captain of MI and wish him all the very best,” he asserted.

 

Like Mahela Jayawardene, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar supported the Mumbai-based IPL team's decision, stressing that Rohit Sharma's performance as a batter hasn't been up to the mark in the last few seasons.

 

“We should not discuss what is right or wrong. The decision taken by Mumbai Indians is for the benefit of their team. In the last two years, Rohit's contributions with the bat were scarce. He used to score heavily, and two seasons ago if I'm not wrong, MI finished last. Last year, they qualified for the Playoffs but the josh that we are used to seeing in him, has been missing. Perhaps he is tired having played non-stop cricket, or captaining India,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

 

“Hardik is a young and fresh captain who has delivered the results. He led Gujarat Titans to two IPL finals and achieved a title once. So pretty sure they made him captain keeping all this in mind. Sometimes you need fresh thinking, and Hardik can bring that. Making Hardik captain may or may not benefit the team, but it sure won't hurt them,” Sunil Gavaskar explained.

 

Former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers, part of Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for many years before quitting cricket, slammed the MI fans who unfollowed the side on social media. 

 

“To be fair to Hardik, he was also a Mumbai boy by for a long time. He was always Mumbai boy from the start of his IPL career. He was with him when they lifted some trophies. I get your point that Surya and Bumrah sort of stayed loyal to the brand when Hardik decided to move on, if you wanna say that. But he's back,” the South African icon said on his YouTube channel.

 

“And I think I find it quite strange that the reaction was pretty negative. I have been reading posts that said Mumbai Indians social platform lost like 1 million followers and people are upset,” he expressed. 

 

“You should be happy about him coming back. I know he played two IPL seasons at the Gujarat Titans and won a trophy. They made the final in another. And now he wants to come back as a more experienced player, a more experienced captain,” AB de Villiers opined. 

 

“So I think you guys (fans) give him a bit of a boost, welcome him back in the Mumbai Indians camp. I'm pretty sure if he lifts a trophy with the rest of the team, you guys are not gonna have a problem with that,” he summed up.

 

Meanwhile, ex-India opener Aakash Chopra described the conclusion of Rohit Sharma's captaincy stint at Mumbai Indians as the end of an era.

“Rohit is a legend. It's an end of an era. He led the team for 10 years and won five IPL titles. He worked a lot for this and also earned a lot of fame. But there comes a time when you start thinking about the future. To be fair, the last two years have been average for MI, considering the high standards they have set for themselves,” Aakash Chopra told JioCinema.

 

“While it's extremely important to give someone a chance at the right time, it's even more critical to decide when to let go of someone. There has been talk on social media that Rohit should have been allowed to leave on his own terms or may be allowed to lead MI in one match before Hardik was asked to take over. I personally don't subscribe to it. There is no one bigger than a team,” he mentioned.