May 16 (Punjab Khabarnama) : What was supposed to be Mumbai Indians’ season of revival has ended in a disaster. MI still have a match to go but they have no chance of making the playoffs. Their only goal is to escape a bottom-of-the-points table finish when they next face Lucknow Super Giants in their last IPL 2024 match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. MI need to beat LSG and then hope PBKS don’t win their last match. But they have bigger things to worry about than tackling LSG or praying for PBKS’ loss.
The differences between former captain Rohit Sharma and new captain Hardik Pandya have reached a stage that has given rise to clear camps in the MI dressing room. MI anyway faced the wrath of the fans for their decision to bring Hardik back from Gujarat Titans and then appoint him as captain a the start of the season, replacing Rohit – their most successful captain and the first to win five IPL titles.
Now, reports have emerged of an open divide between Rohit and Hardik. A report in Dainik Jagran claimed that the Indian players of MI are in favour of reinstating Rohit as captain while the overseas players have sided with Hardik. MI don’t have any big names as far as overseas recruits are concerned.
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers had made this point when dissecting Hardik’s captaincy. The former RCB batter said Hardik’s “chest-out” leadership style can work well with youngsters or less experienced cricketers but it might face issues with established players like Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Hardik, however, doesn’t have many issues with the overseas players of MI. Tim David referred Hardik as the “glue” of the team earlier in the team. “Hardik was the glue that held us together and gave us a chance to play with freedom at the back end,” the Australian had said. “Hardik has been phenomenal in the way he has been playing for the team.”
Hardik and Rohit’s strained relationship
The report also added that Rohit and Hardik have seldom practised together in this IPL. The Indian skipper, Suuryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma in fact left the scene as soon as they saw Hardik walking up to the nets on the eve of the match against KKR, the report claimed.
The form of Hardik and Rohit is also a concern. While Hardik has had one of his worst seasons with the bat, Rohit has seen a drastic dip in form in the second half of the tournament.
If the tainted relationship between Hardik and Rohit doesn’t improve, massive changes in the MI set-up should not surprise anyone, especially with the mega auctions lined up next year.
