The Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2024 season has been forgettable. The team was embroiled in controversy months before the season began when Hardik Pandya was named the team’s new captain, taking the place of five-time champion Rohit Sharma. In the first few games of the season, Hardik was jeered by the team’s own supporters, who were also unhappy with the decision. Similar reactions to Hardik were seen at other grounds as MI encountered opposition enraged by Rohit’s abrupt ouster as team captain.
As a result, MI’s collective performance dropped, and earlier this week, they were eliminated from the postseason race for the first time. However, you couldn’t have been more mistaken if you believed it would be the last chapter of MI’s story this season. A video involving Rohit Sharma and KKR’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar went viral before of the team’s game against the Kolkata Knight Riders. It may have revealed Sharma’s dissatisfaction with how things have gone at the Mumbai Indians over the last few months.
Although Rohit did not specifically mention his franchise, it appeared from his statements that he was referring to MI. “Everything is changing one by one, ek ek cheez change ho raha hai.” Oh my goodness, the data is not clear for that one guy. To the constant chanting of the fans, Rohit could be heard saying to Nayar, “(It depends on them, I don’t care about that).”
Either way, it’s my house. “It’s a temple that I built,” Rohit would continue to say to Nayar, implying that the former captain of the team must be referring to the Mumbai Indians. Supporters also stated that they overheard Rohit say, “Bhai mera kya, mera toh last hai (Anyway, this is my last),” although the audio quality is hazy.
A source from earlier this week also stated that during a team meeting, several senior MI players—Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav—spoke up about the reasons for the team’s dismal season-long performances. A few players were also invited to have one-on-one meetings with MI’s upper management to talk about the team’s future plan and possible shifts in methodology.
MI is hosted by KKR
When MI plays the high-flying Knight Riders in Kolkata, they will play for pride as the team is already out from the playoff competition. With a victory on Saturday, KKR, who are now tied with Sanju Samson’s team but ahead on net run rate, would have an opportunity to seize a two-point lead over the Rajasthan Royals.
It seems very certain that both KKR and RR will make the playoffs this season.
